Earl Cunninghams America

Earl Cunningham's America examines the paintings of Earl Cunningham, one of the premier folk artists of the 20th century. This retrospective presents the artist as a folk modernist who used the flat space and brilliant color typical of Matisse and Van Gogh to create sophisticated compositions with complex meanings about the nature of American life. The exhibition features 50 of the more than 400 canvases Cunningham painted during his life. His imaginary landscapes are marvels of the unexpected and the unlikely. Pink flamingos dot the shoreline of the Maine coast, New England cottages sit at the edge of Florida swamps and Seminole Indians wear feathered headdresses. In this make-believe world, Cunningham merged past and present and defined time by sunsets, dawns, seasons and storms. The exhibition will travel to The Museum of American Folk Art in Manhattan from March 4 until August 31, 2008. From there, the exhibition will move to Cooperstown, New York's Fenimore Museum, where it will be on display from September 27 until December 31 - 2008. Finally, the exhibition will return to Orlando from March 6 until August 2, 2009.