Frank E. Cummings III (born 1938) is an artist and professor of fine arts at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. Cummings makes wood vessels and furniture using precious materials, inspired by spiritual meanings of objects in Africa.

Background

Cummings was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1938. He received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from California State University, Fullerton in 1971. In 1973, Cummings received a grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

to spend two months in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

exploring similarities between the identity struggles of African Americans and struggles faced in Africa. In 1981, he returned to Africa, exhibiting his work in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

Work

Cummings' first solo museum exhibition, ''Sensitivity'', was at the

Long Beach Museum of Art The Long Beach Museum of Art is a museum located on Ocean Boulevard in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States. The museum's permanent collection includes over 4,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, works on paper, an ...

in 1974. His work is still exhibited at the museum. The Lipton Collection contains wooden vessels made by Cummings. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

, and

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

have pieces by Cummings in their collections. His work has been shown in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Collection of American Craft.

Selected collections

, Minneapolis, MN * Smithsonian American Art Museum, New York, NY * Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA * Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA

References

External links

Interview with the artist
at the Renwick Gallery
Frank E. Cummings III at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN

Frank E. Cummings III at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery

Frank E. Cummings III at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

Frank E. Cummings III at the Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Frank 1938 births African-American artists American artists California State University, Fullerton faculty Living people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people