The artwork and legacy of artist Carmen Cicero spans nearly a century.

From his secluded home studio nestled in the hills of Truro, Carmen Cicero looks back on his seven decades in the contemporary art world modestly. “I’m not Picasso but when I drop out of the world something will be left behind to remember me by,” he says amiably. Cicero maintains that he has no advice to give to the young—but at just shy of 100 years old—his humility is betrayed by a lifetime of achievement. 

His first foray into the arts as a young boy growing up in Newark, New Jersey began with an unexpected wish from his father. One day, he sat his children down and told them that he wanted them all to learn how to play an instrument. What they wanted to play was up to them. An elementary school aged Cicero chose clarinet—as did one of his brothers, his sister picked the piano—and took to playing the woodwind like a natural. He recalls being able to play the chaotic, buzzing, “Flight of the Bumblebee” in elementary school and that this talent landed him a small prize. “Some friends and I were walking home from rehearsal when this guy sitting on his stoop saw my clarinet and offered me $5 to play ‘Flight of the Bumblebee,’” he recalls. “Well, he was flabbergasted when I could, and of course I had to foot the bill for ice cream and candy that day for my friends.”

Cicero set his sights on becoming a professional musician. He studied under...