A leading figure in post-war Scottish art, James Cumming's unique and unmistakable style brings together form, pattern, spatial and physical layering with textural variety and an extensive palette.
Cumming was born in Dunfermline and enrolled at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) in 1939. His training was interrupted by service with the Royal Air Force during World War Two. His return to ECA in 1946 led to post-graduate study and a travelling scholarship used to live in Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. This experience inspired the body of work with which Cumming made his name and emerged as a leading figure in post-war Scottish art.
Cumming joined the staff of ECA in 1950 and taught there for over thirty years. His colleagues included Robin Philipson and William Gillies, whilst his students included John Bellany and Sandy Moffat.
Amongst multiple accolades and positions, Cumming was elected a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1970, an institution he served as Treasurer, Secretary and Custodian of Collections.
Whilst referencing reality, Cumming brings together form, pattern, spatial and physical layering with textural variety and an extensive palette. A retrospective of his work was held in 1966, which was organised by the Carnegie Trust in his home town. Indeed, Cumming exhibited regularly throughout his career and his work is held in multiple public collections.
Following his death in 1991, The Independent declared
'James Cumming's unique and unmistakable style and his stature as an artist made him a major figure in Scottish painting...The pictorial language he created evolved out of Post-Cubism and produced an idiom of expressive distortions within a powerfully controlled structure and impeccable craftsmanship. His colour sense could be strangely beautiful and haunting, the paintings wrought with immense care.'
