Earl Cunningham
Folk Artist, American, 1893-1977
Born in Edgecomb, Maine, self-taught painter Earl Cunningham traveled the East Coast of the United States until he settled in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1949.
Cunningham's complex yet idyllic landscapes and seascapes can be considered "historical-fantasy," combining elements of the past and places he had seen with elements from his imagination. With his colorful palette and historical inclination, Cunningham frequently depicted Florida's Seminole Indians.
A reclusive painter of American Primitivism, Earl Cunningham closely guarded his work allowing few to see it, until a 1970 exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art. After his death there was an exhibition of 60 of his works at the Museum of American Folk Art in 1986.
Cunningham's complex yet idyllic landscapes and seascapes can be considered "historical-fantasy," combining elements of the past and places he had seen with elements from his imagination. With his colorful palette and historical inclination, Cunningham frequently depicted Florida's Seminole Indians.
A reclusive painter of American Primitivism, Earl Cunningham closely guarded his work allowing few to see it, until a 1970 exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art. After his death there was an exhibition of 60 of his works at the Museum of American Folk Art in 1986.