Frederick George Rees Cuming (February 16, 1930 – 12 June, 2022), normally known as Fred Cuming, was a contemporary British

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

, who worked in a traditional manner.

Life and art

Cuming was born in London of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry.Buckman, David: "Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945", page 362. Art Dictionaries, 2006 He received his art education at Sidcup School of Art (1945–9) and, after

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. He was awarded the Abbey Minor Travelling Scholarship to visit

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In 1969, he was elected an Associate of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

(ARA), and a Royal Academician (RA) in 1974. He was elected as a member of the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

in 1960. As well as continuing to paint Italian scenes, including

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, he still devoted much time to the landscape of the Southern English coastline, including Hastings and Rye. His art has an

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

quality which captures "the fleeting impressions of his surroundings". He first encountered such landscapes as a child evacuee during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. The powerful contrast to his home in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

created an enduring love for it. He lived in

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

, near

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about southeast of central London and northwest of Folkestone by road. In the ...

until his death in June 2022. In a review for the BBC, Andrew Walker said:

Awards

His awards included: *1977 Joint winner of Grand Prix Fine Art, Monte Carlo *1986 Sir

Brinsley Ford Sir Richard Brinsley Ford (10 June 1908 – 4 May 1999) was a British art historian, scholar, and collector. He inherited a large collection of art from his family and was himself an avid collector. A drawing that he purchased in 1936 was sold ...

Award, New English Club *1988 Grand Prix de l'Art Contemporaries *1994 ''House and Garden'' Award"Fred Cuming"
Adam Gallery. Accessed 1 February 2007

Collections

His work is in many collections including the

, Ministry of Works, Maidstone Museum, Carlisle Museum,

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

, London Tourist Board, National Trust Foundation for Art,

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

, Brighton and Hove Museum,

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, Cardiff, Bradford Museum, New Metropole Arts Centre, Folkestone, Monte Carlo Museum,

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

and the Guinness Collection.

Notes and references

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuming, Fred 1930 births 2022 deaths Royal Academicians 20th-century British painters British male painters 21st-century British painters Alumni of the Royal College of Art British landscape painters 20th-century British male artists 21st-century British male artists Artists from London

Life and art

Awards

Collections

See also

Notes and references

External links