Michael Arthur Cummings (born November 28, 1945) is an American visual artist and quilter. He lives in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan ...

Early life

Cummings grew up in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and earned a BA degree in American art history at Empire College. He moved to New York in the early 1970s to take a position with the

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is the department of the government of New York City dedicated to supporting New York City's cultural life. Among its primary missions is ensuring adequate public funding for non-profit cultu ...

. He worked with event planner Karin Bacon. Cummings spent his early artistic career as a part-time collage (with

Romare Bearden Romare Bearden (, ) (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an American artist, author, and songwriter. He worked with many types of media including cartoons, oils, and collages. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden grew up in New York C ...

as a mentor) and paint artist. After a work project to create a cloth banner for an exhibition in 1973, Cummings discovered his love for working with fabric and taught himself to quilt by studying the works of local quilters and how-to quilt magazines and books. Cummings was in a pilot program that created the Studio in a School program in the 1970s. Philanthropist

Agnes Gund Agnes Gund (born August 13, 1938) is an American philanthropist and arts patron, collector of modern and contemporary art, and arts education and social justice advocate. She is President Emerita and Life Trustee of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA ...

funded the program and visited the artists many times. Cummings also worked at the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) serves to foster and advance the arts, culture, and creativity throughout New York State, according to its website. The goal of the council is to allow all New Yorkers to benefit from the contribution ...

for many years before retiring.

Quilting style and career

Cummings quilts in the narrative, story-telling tradition and is one of a few nationally known male quiltmakers. His work often features bright, colorful African themes and African American historical themes. Major quilt series include the "African Jazz" series (1990), the "Haitian Mermaid" series (1996), and the "Josephine Baker" series (2000). The

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

has posted several of Cummings' quilts in its embassies (Rwanda and Mali) through its Art in Embassies program. Brands such as Absolut Vodka and HBO have commissioned his work, and his work is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, among others.

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

and

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

collect Cummings' quilts.

Public collections

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) be ...

, New York Public Library * International Quilt Study Center & Museum Quilt House,

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

(''Young Obama'' + ''Slave Ship...Henrietta Marie'') * Museum of Art, Michigan State University (''African Jazz'') * Museum of Spirits, Stockholm, Sweden (''Absolut Jazz'') *

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, New York, New York (''President Obama'') *

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

, New York City, New York (''I'll Fly Away'') *

California African American Museum The California African American Museum (CAAM) is a museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, next to the California Science Center. The museum focuses on enrichment and education on the cultural heritage and history of African Americans w ...

, Los Angeles, California (''Springtime in Memphis'') *

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

(Smithsonian Institution) Washington, D.C. (''Haitian Mermaid'') * Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (''Harriet Tubman...Leading family to freedom'')

Women of Color Quilters Network

Cummings is a founding member of the Women of Color Quilters Network, founded by

Carolyn L. Mazloomi Carolyn L. Mazloomi (née Carolyn Louise Stewart; born August 22, 1948) is an American curator, quilter, author, art historian, and aerospace engineer. She is a strong advocate for presenting and documenting African-American-made quilts. Her quil ...

Works illustrated

* ''In the Hollow of Your Hand'' – collected by Alice McGill, with pictures by Michael Cummings

Books that include Cummings' quilts

* ''Spirits of the Cloth'' by Carolyn Mazloomi (1987) * ''Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts by Cuesta Benberry (1992) * ''American Quiltmaking: 1970-2000'' by Eleanor Levie (2004) * ''Contemporary Quilt Art'' by Kate Lenkowsky (2008) * ''Masters: Art Quilts: Major Works by Leading Artists'' by Martha Sielman (2008) * ''Art Quilt Portfolio: The Natural World'' by Martha Sielman (2012) * ''Tragic Soul-Life'' by Terrence L. Johnson (2012) - jacket cover * ''Art Quilt Portfolio: People & Portraits'' by Martha Sielman (2013) * ''Patchwork & Stitching'' (2016) - Australian publication * ''Quilts and Human Rights'' by Macdowell, Worrall, Swanson, and Donaldson (2016)

Awards and honors

* Cummings is a recipient of a 2023

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

References

External links

Official website

Women of Color Quilters Network

New York Public Library guide to Cummings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Michael 1945 births 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American artists Living people American quilters National Heritage Fellowship winners Artists from Los Angeles 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists Fellows of the American Craft Council