Frank Cuprien was born on August 23, 1871 in Brooklyn, NY. As a child Cuprien was drawn to the seascapes of William Trost Richards. At 18 he began art studies in New York at the Art Students League and Cooper Union Art School followed by work with Carl Weber in Philadelphia. He was also a musician and studied music and art in Munich, Paris and Leipzig until 1905. Upon returning to the United States, he taught for five years in Texas at Baylor University. His love of painting the sea lured him to Southern California in 1912. Cuprien lived briefly on Catalina Island and then settled in Laguna Beach where he remained for the rest of his life. His rustic studio, which he named "The Viking", was on a hill overlooking the ocean and was a bohemian gathering place where he loved to entertain with piano recitals and exhibitions of his paintings. After suffering a stroke he was taken to Scripps Clinic in La Jolla where he died on June 21, 1948. His entire estate was bequeathed to the Laguna Beach Art Association. Cuprien is renown for his coastal and marine scenes.
Biography courtesy of DeRu's Fine Arts, www.antiquesandfineart.com/derus
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