Earl Cunningham

Earl Cunningham Florida (1893-1977) MOCK UP -1956, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. NO 4 oil on paper, framed, signed lower left overall: H16 5/8" W37 1/8" Provenance: Rediscovered in a New England home. James D. Julia, 27 August 2008, Lot 2152. Upstate South Carolina private collection. Other Notes: Titled on verso: Mock Up-1956-St Augustine-FLA- No 4 Estimate $ 7,000-9,000

Earl Cunningham (1893-1977) Coastal Waterways signed 'Earl Cunningham' (lower left) oil on board 15½ x 36½ in. (39.3 x 92.7 cm.) Painted circa 1945. Provenance Estate of the artist. Exhibited Mystic, Connecticut, Mystic Seaport Museum, and elsewhere, Earl Cunningham (1893-1977): His Carefree American World ,November 19, 1988-March 15, 1989, no. 309. Lot Notes Earl Cunningham's art is direct and sincere alternatelyreferencing his life on sea, where he worked on large shippingvessels transporting goods between Maine and Florida, and hischildhood. "In his work and in his life, Cunningham manifested amixture of simplicity and sophistication that is characteristicallytwentieth-century even though it is disconcerting to anyone tryingto apply traditional labels as naïve and folk artist. This mixtureof simplicity and sophistication makes Cunningham appear to bepostmodern" (R. Hobbs, Earl Cunningham: Painting and AmericanEden , New York, 1994, p. 34). In 1949, Cunningham moved from Maine to St. Augustine, Floridawhere he opened The Over-Fork Gallery, selling a variety of items,from marine hardware to Indian artifacts. Here, Cunningham createda personal museum, which housed his brilliantly colored coastalscenes, "unique world[s] of unbridled, intense color and gentle,whimsical American scenery--a combination unknown in the works ofany other painter of our time." (D. Force, Earl Cunningham'sAmerican Fantasies , exhibition catalogue, New York, 1997, p. 5) Coastal Waterways is exemplary of Cunningham's best works inits direct, simplified composition and powerful use ofcolor.

Earl Cunningham (1893-1977) River Through Chickee Village signed 'Earl Cunningham' (lower right) oil on canvasboard 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm.) Provenance The artist. Estate of the above. Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 1980.

EARL CUNNINGHAM 1893-1977 HOUSE BY THE SEA 7,000—10,000 USD measurements 15 3/4 by 20 in. alternate measurements 35 by 50.8 cm. Description signed Earl Cunningham, l.r. oil on masonite, unframed PROVENANCE Purchased directly from the artist by the present owner