MARION OSBORN CUNNINGHAM

(American, 1908-1948)

TROPICAL WATERFALL, 1948

Screen Print on Paper

17 x 16 Inches

Certification of Authenticity Verso

 

A technically masterful, mid-century Polynesian landscape showing a view of a secluded, tropical glade with two women bathing beneath a waterfall among lush vegetation and colorful wildlife. Above the falls, two figures carry a canoe as they cross a rope bridge between verdant cliffs. Comprising more than ten complex, hand-drawn silkscreen layers, many of which vary in either hue or opacity, this exceptional work represents a remarkable achievement both for the artist and the medium itself.

 

After receiving her B.A. from Stanford University, Marion Osborn Cunningham continued her formal training at the California School of Fine Arts (SF) and at the Art Student's League (NY). Active in the San Francisco art scene of the 30's and 40's, Cunningham produced over 20,000 serigraphs depicting the geography, architecture and culture of the Bay Area and became particularly known for her stylized prints of San Francisco cable cars. A member of the Association of San Francisco Women Artists and the National Serigraph Society, Marion Cunningham exhibited widely and with success throughout the United States and internationally. Her work is held in the permanent collections of museums world-wide, including those of New York's Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; St. Louis Art Museum; de Young Museum; State Department Washington, DC and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.

 

References:

Artists in California 1786-1940, Hughes, Vol. I, p. 266; Who Was Who in American Art, Falk, Vol. I, p. 796; Davenport’s Art Reference Guide, 2009/10 Edition, p. 669; Mallett’s Index of Artists, Supplement, Daniel Trowbridge Mallett, New York, 1948, p. 62; et al.

 

Exhibitions:

1935 / San Francisco Museum of Ar, 1935; San Francisco Art Association, 2nd Annual Exhibition of Water Colors and Gouaches, November 1936; Art Center,“Pastels by Marion Cunningham”, October 1937; GGE, 1939; Bolton & Van Horn Gallery, pastels, 1939; San Francisco Society of Women Artists (Now San Francisco Women Artists), 1939-1943; San Francisco WC Ann, 1939; San Francisco A.A, 1939-1944; San Francisco Museum in the Veterans’ building (solo), October 1940; Oakland Art Gallery, 1940-1942; Ney Museum, Dallas, 1943; National Serigraph Society, 1943-1946; MoMA, 1944; NAD, 1944; LOC, 1944; San Diego FA Soc., 1944; Audubon Artists, 1945; San Francisco Society of Women Artists, 1945; Northwest Printmakers, 1945-1946; CPLH, 1945; Stanford University, 1946; San Francisco Museum of Art, Marion Cunningham Memorial Exhibition, July 1948; Prints Room of the State Library, Memorial Exhibition assembled by her parents, May 1950; Bakersfield Art Association, 1957

 

Permanent Collections:

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bakersfield Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; St. Louis Art Museum; Cleveland Museum of Art; de Young Museum, San Francisco, California; State Department Washington, DC; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; Moscow Museum; Oakland Museum of California (compliments of San Francisco Housing Authority)