Born in Kansas, Robert Cunningham studied at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; Kansas City Art Institute and the Art Students League, New York City. Cunningham's illustrations have been featured in popular magazines including Sports Illustrated, McCall's, and Redbook as well as a wide variety of other industrial design publications. Cunningham's pieces have been displayed in the Brooklyn Museum, New York; American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York City: Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. and New York Historical Society Museum, New York City. In 1980, Cunningham was commissioned by the United States Postal Service to create commemorative postal images honoring the Olympics. Cunningham's works are exhibited in galleries throughout the United States, including Walton Street Gallery, Chicago; Pioneer Square Gallery, Seattle; and Circle Gallery-Soho, New York City.