Joined the Carmel Art Association in 1938.John Cunningham was raised in Manhattan and educated at the University of California, Berkeley, (A.B., M.A. in Art) and was awarded a Traveling Fellowship to study with Hans Hoffman, Munich; Andre L'Hote, Paris; and Benianmino Buffano, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France. He was commissioned to paint murals for Gimbel Brothers, NYC; Macy's New York; Livingstone Manor, NY; and the Firestone Winery in Los Olivos, California. From 1931 to 1933 he was Resident Artist, Head of Summer School, at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and in 1935 Visiting Professor and Head of Summer Session in Art at Mills College, Oakland. In 1936 and 1937, he was staff artist of the Governor's Commission, University of California, Hall of Science, and Articulator and Exhibits Designer for the Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island. He came to Carmel in 1937 and in 1938 was the director of the First Summer School at the Carmel Art Institute. In 1939, be became the director of the the Carmel Art Institute. Among his numerous one-man shows was an exhibition in 1932 at the DeYoung Museum.