Fred Cuming RA NEAC
1930 –
Born: 16 February 1930, London, UK
Elected ARA: 25 April 1969
Elected RA: 12 February 1974
Category of Membership: Painter
“I am not interested in pure representation. My work is about responses to the moods and atmospheres generated by landscape, still life or interior. I am interested in the developments of 20th-century painting in abstraction…and in new ideas and art forms. My philosophy is that the more I work the more I discover. Drawing is essential as a tool of discovery; skill and mastery of technique are also essential, but only as a vocabulary and a means towards an idea. I struggle to keep an open mind.”
Fred Cuming studied at Sidcup School of Art from 1945 to 1949 and, having completed his National Service, went on to study at the Royal College of Art from 1951 to 1955, where he gained a Rome Scholarship and an Abbey Minor Scholarship.
Cuming’s first solo show was held in 1978 at the Thackeray Gallery, London, and since then he has exhibited regularly in solo shows throughout the UK and more recently in the United States. His paintings have also been included in many group exhibitions since 1953. In 2001 he was given the honour of being the featured artist in the Royal Academy`s Summer Exhibition, with an entire gallery within the show dedicated to his work.
Among Fred Cuming’s many awards are the Grand Prix Fine Art (1977), the Royal Academy’s House & Garden Award and the Sir Brinsley Ford Prize (New English Art Club, 1986). His paintings are held in private collections throughout the world.
Fred Cuming was elected Royal Academician in 1974 (ARA 1969). He is also a Member of the New English Art Club and an Associate of the Royal College of Art..
Fred Cuming Solo Exhibitions
2006 Thompsons London
2004 Thompsons City gallery London
2002 Alresford Gallery, Alresford
2001 Thompsons City Gallery, London
Adam Gallery, Bath
Neville Gallery, Canterbury
Alresford Gallery, Alresford, Hampshire
2000 New Grafton Gallery, London
1999 Barneys Gallery, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Thompsons City Gallery, London
Neville Gallery, Canterbury
Alresford Gallery, Alresford, Hampshire
Adam Gallery, Bath
1998 The Vogel Gallery, Dallas, Texas, USA
New Grafton Gallery, London
Jonleigh Gallery, Guildford
Jorgenson Gallery, Dublin
1997 Thompsons City Gallery, London
Alresford Gallery, Alresford, Hampshire
1996 New Grafton Gallery, London
Mason Watts, Warwick
1995 Thompsons City Gallery, London
Jonleigh Gallery, Guildford
1994 New Grafton Gallery, London
Sinfield Gallery, Burford
Mason Watts, Warwick
1992 New Grafton Gallery, London
Sinfield Gallery, Burford
1991 Drew Gallery, Canterbury
1990 New Grafton Gallery, London
Easton Rooms, Rye
Sinfield Gallery, Burford
Fred Cuming Public Collections
Bradford and Scunthorpe Museum
Brighton and Hove Museum
Canterbury Museum
Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery
Chantrey Bequest
Department of the Environment
Eastbourne Towner Gallery
Farendon Trust
Folkestone New Metropole Arts Centre
Kendall Museum
Maidstone Museum
Ministry of Works
Monte Carlo Museum
National Museum of Wales
Royal Academy of Arts
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Southend Museum
