Earl Cunningham's America presents Cunningham as a folk modernist whose sophisticated compositions reflect and explore the complexity of American life. Earl Cunningham (1893-1977) was one of the premier folk artists of the 20th century. A creative, eccentric, and restless young man, he studied automobile mechanics and coastal navigation, earned a license as a harbour and river pilot, and worked on a schooner that carried cargo between Maine and Florida. In 1949, Cunningham opened an antique shop and art gallery, which he dubbed Over Fork Gallery. there he displayed crockery, tableware, old photographs, magazines, and tolls (all of which were for sale), and His own paintings which were not.this catalogue accompanies an exhibition of Cunningham's work that will open at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC and tour to several other museums in the US. the show will feature about 50 of the more than 400 works Cunningham produced.