Frank Cuprien was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 23, 1871. His art studies took him to the Art Students' League of New York and the Cooper Institute of New York, he trained under William Trost Richards, in Philadelphia.

Seeking a mild climate and an inspirational landscape, Cuprien moved to California in 1910. Cuprien earned his reputation as a distinguished seascape painter while residing in the communities of Laguna Beach, Los Angeles and Catalina Island, California. He was a member of the California Art Club, Laguna Beach Art Association and the American Federation of Arts.

He received the Gold Medal award at the Berliner Ausstellung, the Silver Medal at the San Diego Exposition, 1915-1916 and the Bronze Medal at the California State Fair, 1918.

Frank Cuprien became known for his opalescent seacapes, a critic noted, "Cuprien loves to paint the slow incoming tide with a subdued illumination of the sun, or the softness of the afterglow on the ocean". His paintings can be found in the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Bowers Museum of Santa Ana, California. Frank Cuprien died in Laguna Beach, California on June 21, 1948.