Isabella Flores
Edward Estlin Cummings, commonly known as E. E. Cummings, was a poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems and painted over 1,600 oils and watercolours, as well as 9,000 drawings. He referred to writing and painting as his twin obsessions and considered himself a poetandpainter. While he is best known for his writing, his paintings have been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and he had over 30 exhibitions of his paintings during his lifetime. E. E. Cummings signed his name in both all-lowercase and capitalised versions, but capitalised his name more frequently.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Paintings | Sketches, watercolours, oil paintings, line drawings |
| Number of paintings | Over 1600 oils and watercolours, over 9000 drawings |
| Style | Abstract, avant-garde, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism |
| Signature | Did not use materials that would preserve his work |
| Signing name | Used both lowercase and capitalised versions of his name, but capitalised more frequently |
| Painting subjects | Lightscapes, cloudscapes, treescapes, portraits of Marion Morehouse |
| Painting and writing | Considered them his "twin obsession", they "love each other dearly" |
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What You'll Learn
E. E. Cummings' paintings and drawings
E. E. Cummings, born Edward Estlin Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems and published several collections, including Tulips and Chimneys (1923), XLI Poems (1925), and Is 5 (1926). He is often regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century, known for his modernist free-form poetry and idiosyncratic use of syntax and lowercase spellings.
But Cummings was also a prolific visual artist, leaving behind more than 1,600 oils and watercolours, as well as over 9,000 drawings. He considered writing and painting as his "twin obsessions" and referred to himself as a "poetandpainter". He painted continuously from his childhood until his death, and his visual art spanned various media, including charcoal, ink, oil, pencil, and watercolour.
Cummings' paintings and drawings were exhibited during his lifetime, with more than 30 exhibitions of his work. He received acclaim as an American cubist and an abstract, avant-garde painter between the World Wars. However, as his poetry gained popularity, his success as a visual artist was somewhat eclipsed. One of his notable paintings is the abstract oil painting Noise Number 13 (1925), which was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of the "At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism" exhibition.
Cummings' visual art reflected his poetic style, with a combination of childlike wonder and intensity. His paintings included lightscapes, cloudscapes, treescapes, and portraits of Marion Morehouse, the love of his life. He was inspired by artists such as Cezanne and tended to favour nature-related subjects, particularly studies of Mount Chocorua near his parents' home in New Hampshire.
In terms of signing his paintings, Cummings himself used both all-lowercase and capitalised versions of his name, but he capitalised his name more frequently. The way he signed his name became a subject of controversy and misconception.
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His unique signature style
E. E. Cummings, born Edward Estlin Cummings, is known for his distinctive style in both his writing and visual art. Even the way he signed his name—alternating between lowercase and capital letters—was subject to controversy and misconception.
Cummings considered both writing and painting as his "twin obsessions". He painted continuously from his childhood until his death, leaving behind over 1600 oils and watercolours, 9000 drawings, and a substantial body of written work, including approximately 2900 poems.
Cummings's unique signature style is evident in his written work, where he experimented with poetic form and language to create a distinct personal style. He played with grammatical and linguistic rules, using certain words as nouns and assigning his own meanings to others. He also invented words, often by combining two common words. This eccentric use of grammar and punctuation, along with his sparse and precise placement of a few key words on the page, created a dynamic use of language that challenged traditional poetic forms.
Cummings's visual art also displayed a unique signature style. He approached his paintings as visual objects, using typography to "paint a picture". Tendencies such as Post-Impressionism and Fauvism were prevalent in his art, and he was acclaimed as an American cubist and an abstract, avant-garde painter between the World Wars. His paintings were exhibited at galleries including the Society of Independent Artists and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Cummings's signature style in both his writing and visual art was characterised by a daring creative vision and a playful experimentation with language and form.
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Abstract art and Post-Impressionism
E. E. Cummings, born Edward Estlin Cummings, was a poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He is often regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems and painted more than 1,600 oils and watercolours, as well as over 9,000 drawings.
Cummings referred to writing and painting as his "twin obsessions" and considered himself a "poetandpainter". He painted continuously from childhood until his death and had more than 30 exhibitions of his paintings in his lifetime. He received acclaim as an American cubist and an abstract, avant-garde painter between the World Wars.
Abstract Impressionism, a related term, refers to an art movement that originated in New York City in the 1940s. It combines the Impressionist style with varying degrees of abstraction, often painting en plein air, or outdoors. Abstract Impressionism has faced criticism for its legitimacy and its similarity to other art movements, such as Abstract Expressionism and Post-Impressionism.
Post-Impressionism includes notable artists such as Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne, who is considered the "father" of the movement. These artists worked independently but were categorised as Post-Impressionists by critic and artist Roger Fry in 1906 and again in 1910.
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The use of typography in his work
Edward Estlin Cummings, commonly known as e e cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He is often regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century.
Cummings' work is particularly modernist and is known for experimenting with poetic form and language to create a distinct personal style. He is known for his unconventional use of typography, with words, parts of words, or punctuation symbols scattered across the page. He also favoured a distinctively visual approach to his poems and how he arranged them on the page. He often used lowercase letters, though not exclusively. For example, he almost always wrote the pronoun "I" as "i". As a result, lowercase type is what many people associate with Cummings.
Cummings' poems are sparse and precise, employing a few key words eccentrically placed on the page. Some of these words were invented by Cummings, often by combining two common words into a new synthesis. He also revised grammatical and linguistic rules to suit his own purposes, using words such as "if", "am", and "because" as nouns, for instance, or assigning his own private meanings to words.
Cummings' first collection of poetry, "Tulips and Chimneys", published in 1923, displayed his characteristically eccentric use of grammar and punctuation. His work uses capital letters all the time—just not always in places that would be approved of in traditional English classes.
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Exhibitions of his paintings
E. E. Cummings had more than 30 exhibitions of his paintings during his lifetime. He was an avid painter, referring to writing and painting as his "twin obsessions".
Cummings had his first exhibition at the Society of Independent Artists in New York after graduating from Harvard University. He was inspired to create more radical and abstract art after seeing the exhibition "The Forum" in New York, which showcased 17 leading artists of the time. Cummings's early work was influenced by tendencies such as Post-Impressionism and Fauvism. He gained substantial acclaim as an American cubist and an abstract, avant-garde painter between the World Wars.
In 1945, Cummings exhibited at the Memorial Gallery in Rochester, New York, where he performed a piece of poetic role-play, contemplating his dual passion for writing and painting.
In 2017, the hope & feathers art gallery in Amherst, Massachusetts, exhibited a selection of Cummings's sketches, watercolours, and oil paintings, many of which had never been shown before. The exhibition included lightscapes, cloudscapes, treescapes, and portraits of Marion Morehouse, the love of his life.
In 2022, the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in New York featured Cummings's abstract oil painting "Noise Number 13" from 1925 as part of its exhibition "At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism". The exhibition showcased modernist artists who were overlooked during their time, and Cummings's work was displayed alongside that of artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe and Agnes Pelton.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, E. E. Cummings signed his paintings. He is known to have created more than 1600 oils and watercolours, as well as over 9000 drawings.
E. E. Cummings signed his name in both all-lowercase and capitalised versions, but he capitalised his name more frequently.
No, E. E. Cummings did not sign his paintings "EP".
E. E. Cummings considered writing and painting as his "twin obsessions". He once wrote, "The Artist is no other than he who unlearns what he has learned, in order to know himself".
