ABSTRACT
Early Life Imogen Cunningham was the fifth child of ten in the family of Isaac Burns Cunningham and Susan E. Johnson Cunningham. The family was poor, and Isaac took on various jobs over the years in order to support his large family. He was an extremely independent and strong-minded man-qualities that his daughter absorbed in order to sustain her art throughout her life. At the time Imogen was born, he operated a small wood and coal business in Seattle, Washington. Imogen was close to her father, who recognized her intelligence and appreciated her desire for an education. She did not begin school, however, until she was eight because the family home was somewhat remote from town. From that time on and with her father's encouragement, she took art lessons on the weekends and during school vacations.
