Frank Cuprien was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 23, 1871. At 18 he began art studies in New York City at the Art Students League and Cooper Union, 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 U.S., he taught for five years 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 spot where he loved to entertain with piano recitals and exhibitions of his paintings. After suffering from a stroke, he was taken to Scripps Clinic where he died on June 21, 1948. His entire estate was bequeathed to the Laguna Beach Art Association. Cuprien is best known for his marine and coastal scenes.

Member: California Art Club; Laguna Beach Art Association (President); Leipzig Art Association; Dallas Art Association; Denver Art Association; Southern States Art League; Painters and Sculptors of Los Angeles.

Exhibited: San Francisco Art Association, 1912-13; Kanst Galleries, Los Angeles, 1914; Arizona State Fair, 1916; Laguna Art Association annuals; Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science and Art, 1918.

Awards: First prize, Galveston Cotton Exposition, Texas, 1913; silver medal, Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, 1915; bronze medal, California State Fair, 1918.

Works held: Bowers Museum, Santa Ana; Irvine Museum; Laguna Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach; Springville Museum of Art, Utah.