Fred Cuming RA

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.

Cuming’s first solo show was held in 1978 at the Thackeray Gallery, London, and he exhibited regularly throughout the UK and United States.

His paintings have also been included in many group exhibitions since 1953. In 2001, he received 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.

Fred Cuming was elected Royal Academician in 1974 (ARA 1969). He was also a Member of the New English Art Club and an Associate of the Royal College of Art.

Artist Statement

"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."

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