Frederick George Rees Cuming RA (February 16, 1930 – 12 June, 2022), normally known as Fred Cuming, was a contemporary British landscape painter, who worked in a traditional manner.[1]
Frederick Cuming | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 February 1930 London, England |
| Died | 12 June 2022 (aged 92) Iden, East Sussex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education |
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| Known for | Landscape painting |
| Elected |
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| Website | fredcuming |
Life and art
editCuming was born in London of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry.[2] He received his art education at Sidcup School of Art (1945–49) and, after National Service, at the Royal College of Art. He was awarded the Abbey Minor Travelling Scholarship to visit Italy. In 1957 his oil painting of Lewisham Road was included as one of the 'Young Artists of Promise' in Jack Beddington's book.[3] In 1969, he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA), and a Royal Academician (RA) in 1974. He was elected as a member of the New English Art Club in 1960.[4][5]
As well as continuing to paint Italian scenes, including Venice, he still devoted much time to the landscape of the Southern English coastline, including Hastings and Rye. His art has an impressionist quality which captures "the fleeting impressions of his surroundings".[6] He first encountered such landscapes as a child evacuee during the Blitz. The powerful contrast to his home in London created an enduring love for it.[6]
He lived in Rye, near Ashford, Kent until his death in June 2022.[7]
In a review for the BBC, Andrew Walker said:
Fred Cuming's haunting, vaguely Turneresque, painting, Ferry to Polrwen, combines great subtlety, especially in his skilful representation of a lowering sky, with an end-of-era feel, strongly redolent of Turner's own masterpiece, the Fighting Temeraire.[8]
Awards
editHis awards included:
- 1977 Joint winner of Grand Prix Fine Art, Monte Carlo
- 1986 Sir Brinsley Ford Award, New English Club
- 1988 Grand Prix de l'Art Contemporaries
- 1994 House and Garden Award[9]
Collections
editHis work is in many collections including the Royal Academy, Ministry of Works, Maidstone Museum, Carlisle Museum, Worcester College, Oxford, London Tourist Board, National Trust Foundation for Art, Department of the Environment, Brighton and Hove Museum, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, Bradford Museum, New Metropole Arts Centre, Folkestone, Monte Carlo Museum, St John's College, Oxford, Lloyd's of London, London Weekend Television and the Guinness Collection.[9]
See also
editNotes and references
edit- ^ "Obituary | Fred Cuming RA NEAC Hon RBA Hon ROI". Royal Society of British Artists. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023.
- ^ Buckman, David: "Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945", page 362. Art Dictionaries, 2006
- ^ Beddington, Jack (1957). Young Artists of Promise. The Studio. pp. 17, 122.
- ^ Miller, Michael (16 June 2022). "Fred Cuming RA obituary". Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Frederick Cuming - Overview". NEAC | New English Art Club. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Frederick Cuming". NEAC | New English Art Club. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Cole, John. "Fred Cuming: Surviving the Blitzkrieg". Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Summer Exhibition stands tall". 2 June 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Fred Cuming" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Adam Gallery. Accessed 1 February 2007