Earl Cunningham - St. Augustine, FL
N 29° 54.141 W 081° 19.207
17R E 469095 N 3308008
Earl Cunningham's Great Floridian blue plaque is located on the building that formerly housed Mr. Cunningham’s gallery, studio, and residence in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.
Waymark Code: WMB9AA
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 04/22/2011
Views: 9
"Great Floridians 2000
Earl Cunningham
(1893 - 1977)
Earl Cunningham, a native of Maine, moved to St. Augustine in 1949 and lived in the city until his death nearly thirty years later. During his time in St. Augustine, Cunningham developed his craft as a self-taught American folk artist and was appreciated for his remarkably colorful palette. His favorite images include early twentieth century schooners and evocative portrayals of Seminole Indian life which he infused with the ingratiating and adventuresome pictorials of Viking ships.
Robert Hobbs of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta noted, "Great attention has recently been focused on folk and outsider art, and among these artists Cunningham is remarkable, both for the length of his career and for his development . . . to a sophisticated vernacular artist in the 1960’s and 1970’s."
Cunningham’s work went largely underappreciated during his lifetime. His first exhibition was in Orlando in 1970, but not until 1986 when his works were exhibited through a partnership between the Center for American Art and New York University, was his ability as a folk artist recognized.
Marker location
1080 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd. site of Mr. Cunningham’s gallery, studio and residence."
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