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, where he gained a Rome Scholarship and an Abbey Minor Scholarship.

“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.” Fred Cuming RA

Cuming’s first solo show was held in 1978 at the Thackeray Gallery, London, and since then he has exhibited regularly in solo shows throughout the UK and more recently in the United States. His paintings have also been included in many group exhibitions since 1953. In 2001 he was given 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.

Among Fred Cuming’s many awards are the Grand Prix Fine Art (1977), the Royal Academy’s House & Garden Award and the Sir Brinsley Ford Prize (New English Art Club, 1986). His paintings are held in private collections throughout the world.

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