Vera Cuningham (also known as Vera Cunningham) (6 November 1897 – 3 May 1955) was a British artist. Cuningham modeled for and had relationships with fellow artists

Bernard Meninsky Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891–12 February 1950) was a painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher.. Biography Early life and education Meninsky was born in Konotop, Ukraine, where his fathe ...

and Matthew Smith. She lived and exhibited her works in London and Paris, where she fled with Smith at the beginning of their affair. Some of her works are in public collections in England.

Early life and education

Vera Irene Walpole Martin Cuningham was born in 1897 at

Goffs Oak Goffs Oak (Goff's Oak on Ordnance Survey maps) is a large village in the borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It lies between Cuffley and Cheshunt, just north of the M25 motorway in a slightly more rural section of the ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

to Scottish parents. Cuningham attended

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

, where she studied painting. In 1922, she began exhibiting her work with

The London Group The London Group is a society based in London, England, created to offer additional exhibiting opportunities to artists besides the Royal Academy of Arts. Formed in 1913, it is one of the oldest artist-led organisations in the world. It was form ...

and became a member of the organization in 1927.

Early career and love interests

Cuningham modeled for and was in a relationship with

when she met Matthew Smith in 1922 or 1923. At the time, Smith was married to

Gwen Salmond Mary Gwendoline Salmond, also known as Gwen Salmond (1877–1958), was a 19th-century British artist. She was the daughter of Major General William Salmond and wife of Sir Matthew Smith. Early life Salmond was the daughter of Major General ...

, but Cuningham and Matthew Smith left their partners and moved to Paris, where they lived at 6 bis Villa Brune. The British Museum states that they both exhibited in 1922 at the

Société des Artistes Indépendants The Société des Artistes Indépendants (''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sans ...

and at the Amis de Montparnasse. Smith's paintings of her between 1923 and 1926 include ''Vera Cuningham, Head and Shoulders,'' ''Vera Cuningham in a Chair,'' ''Vera Reclining in a Pink Slip,'' and ''Vera in a Yellow Dress'', all of which are in the Corporation of London Collection. The paintings of her generally fill the canvas, emphasizing her voluptuous figure. Malcolm Yorke described her in his book as "a guffawing, red-haired, rosy-cheeked, plump-bodied, highly sexed young woman who was determined to become a professional artist." Her demeanor may have been in opposition to her family background. For instance, her mother had connections with aristocrats. She had given much of her time to modeling for Smith, but became singularly focused on her own paintings in 1925 and soon after their relationship ended.

Career

In 1929, she had her first solo exhibition at the Bloomsbury Gallery. She was with Smith in Woolhope, near Hereford, in 1932. In the late 1930s, Cuningham produced several theatre designs. She participated in Colling Galleries Civil Defence Artists' shows during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Exhibitions were held in 1948, 1951, and 1954 by Raymond Creuze, her Paris dealer. She lived in Hampstead, London, and at the time of her death on 3 May 1955 she lived at Logs Cottage on Well Road. She had never married, but it has been reported that Cuningham died in the arms of Matthew Smith. A retrospective of her work was held in 1985 by the

Barbican Art Gallery The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibi ...

Collections

* ''Susannah and the Elders'', 1934,

Pallant House Gallery Pallant House Gallery is an art gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It houses one of the best collections of 20th-century British art in the world. History The Gallery's collection is founded on works left to the city of Chichester by ...

, Chichester * ''Woman Wearing a Large Hat'', early 20th century, gouache painting,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

* ''Landscape'', 1949, Victoria and Albert Museum * ''Exhuberant Flower,'' 1954, Manchester City Galleries * ''Still Life with Mackerel'', City of London Corporation * Guildhall Gallery, London

References

External links