'Nuns at Notre-Dame' by Patricia Stanley Cunningham, Paris, Munich, Woman Modernist, Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian, Carmel

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Signed lower left, and lower right, 'Patricia Cunningham' for Patricia Stanley Cunningham (American, 1907-1984) and painted circa 1965.

A vibrant, … Read more Signed lower left, and lower right, 'Patricia Cunningham' for Patricia Stanley Cunningham (American, 1907-1984) and painted circa 1965.

A vibrant, Post-Impressionistic oil showing a view of Paris with two nuns wearing wimples and cornets, one carrying a basket of daffodils, standing beneath the shade of a tree and with a view beyond to the façade of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame lit by bright sunshine.

The first woman to serve as president of the Carmel Art Association, Patricia Stanley Cunningham first studied at UC Berkeley and, subsequently, with Hans Hofmann in Munich and with André Lhote in Paris. While in Paris, in 1930, she wed the American artist, John Cunningham. Settling on the Monterey Peninsula after returning from Europe, Cunningham joined the Carmel Art Institute, of which she became president, the Southwest Artists and the Society of Western Artists. Cunningham was both a revered teacher at both Mills College and UC Berkeley as well as a muralist and easel painter for the WPA Federal Art Project. In 1959, the Cunninghams founded the local chapter of the American Federation of Arts, which became the Museum of Monterey.

Cunningham exhibited widely and with success, including at the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition, Gump's Gallery (San Francisco), Salt Lake City Museum, Carmel Art Association, Portland Art Museum (Oregon) among others. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of national museums, including the Smithsonian, the Museum of Monterey, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Spencer Museum of Art.

Award: Fellowship, University of California

Reference:
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 1, p. 796; Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Overview, Oral history interview with Patricia Stanley Cunningham, 1964 July 28'; AskArt; et al. See less