The Grand Portraits of Mr. Eddy Mumma

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

If you live in Central Florida or if you are planning a visit to the area, I highly recommend a stop at the Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park. The current exhibition is incredibly delightful and inspiring and it is only on view for a few more weeks.

The Grand Portraits of Mr. Eddy Mumma is a collection of works by an untrained Florida artist that were nearly lost to the trash heap. After Mr. Mumma’s passing, his Neo-Folk portraits in exceptionally bright colors were saved from the dumpster by a collector who felt the world should see these paintings in all their glory. And glorious they are! Born of an insatiable desire to create, Mr. Mumma’s paintings number into the hundreds (there could be upwards of one thousand in existence!) and some pieces have a painting on both the front and back.

Front of Painting.
Back of Painting.

The Mennello does a wonderful job displaying Mr. Mumma’s works so that quite a few of the back artworks can be seen. The curators also provide valuable information as to Mr. Mumma’s inspirations, including art history books and National Geographic magazines.

Here is an example of how Mr. Mumma reinterpreted art historical works to fit his own aesthetic and color scheme…

“The Gleaners,” Millet, 1857
“Untitled (After Millet),” Eddy Mumma (1908-1986), no date

On a personal note, 2020 was a challenging year for me as an artist – I felt unmotivated to paint anything. I contributed two paintings to a charity fundraiser, but that was all I could muster. I think I was so focused on surviving a global pandemic that I didn’t have anything – mentally, emotionally or creatively – left over put into my artwork.

I have been working to remedy that in 2021 and this exhibition helped confirm for me that I am on the right track. Mr. Mumma’s work reminded me that as an artist, we all have different reasons for making art and that sometimes, an artist just has to create for no one but themselves. I am hoping that I can continue to channel this freeing approach to art-making for as long as possible. It was an overcast and rainy day when I visited this exhibition, but I left the museum feeling joyful, inspired and motivated to create with pure abandon, just like Eddy Mumma.

For more information on this exhibition, please visit…

The Grand Portraits of Mr. Eddy Mumma

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.