Folk Art Hits the Beach

Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum opens in Miami, Florida.

Contemporary Folk Art will be on view at The Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami through March 4, 2001.

This engaging Florida scene by folk artist Earl Cunningham is one of many treasures currently appearing in the exhibition.

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. In Seminole Indian Summer Camp, Cunningham portrayed Native Americans in the Florida Everglades with flamingos and Viking ships.

Pictured top: Earl Cunningham, 1893–1977, Seminole Indian Summer Camp, about 1963, oil on masonite, 16 7/8 x 40 3/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Michael and Marilyn Mennello.

Pictured bottom: Earl Cunningham, 1893–1977, Seminole Indian Summer Camp, (detail).