The Mennello Museum of American Art is on Princeton Street in Orlando, tucked away across from the Orlando Science Center. One of their standing exhibits is dedicated to the artist Earl Cunningham. Cunningham’s art is vibrant in color, but one of the things I first noticed when walking into the gallery is how his art is on display. The paintings are illuminated from behind and it really makes his art pop. Cunningham owned a curio shop named “Over Fork Gallery” located on St. George Street in St. Augustine. Attached to the shop was a mall gallery of his art that he allowed very few people in to see. One of them was Marilyn Mennello and she became a big fan of his work. After his death, she acquired a majority of his art. She was instrumental in not only giving his work a place to be on display here in Orlando, but to have his work travel the country in exhibitions. Another person who discovered Cunningham on St. George Street was former First Lady, Jackie Kennedy. He gifted her one of his paintings and it now hangs inside the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
For more on artist Earl Cunningham and his connection to St. Augustine, watch this video:
For more on the Mennello Museum of American Art, visit their website here.