"Fly Fishing Lesson off the Back Porch" Lot no. 3220
By John Frost (1890-1937)
1919 (Estimated)
20.75" x 22.00"
Watercolor on Paper
Signed and Dated Lower Left
REQUEST PRICE
PURCHASE REQUEST
Click any of the images above for additional views.
Explore related art collections: Family / 1910s / $100 - $5,000 / Hunting/Fishing
See all original artwork by John Frost
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Philadelphia in 1890, John Frost painted radiant impressionistic landscapes of Southern California. They were primarily of the Eastern Sierras and the desert region of Palm Springs. His style was purely influenced by the French Impressionists and he was one of the earlier California artists to apply this technique to the western landscape.
He was the son of famous illustrator Arthur B. Frost. Known as Jack, he studied with his father as well as with Jean Paul Laurens in Paris at the Academie Julian. Two of his notable fellow painters in France were Richard E. Miller and Guy Rose, the latter of which he met in Giverny.
He suffered from poor health through much of his life and as a young adult spent two years in a tuberculosis sanitarium in Switzerland. After becoming a successful illustrator in New York City, he moved out west seeking a dry climate for his health. In 1919 he lived with his family in Pasadena, where he was much influenced by his father's close friend, painter Guy Rose. The men went on numerous painting excursions together.
Frost married in 1922. After a honeymoon in Santa Barbara, where he met artist John Marshall Gamble, he settled with his new wife in Pasadena. The couple enjoyed an active social calendar full of country clubs, golfing and horseback riding, much to the dismay of fellow artist Alson Skinner Clark, who thought he did not devote enough time to his artistic pursuits.
According to John Frost’s son, John Frost was at time nervous and uncomfortable of the watchful eye of his father Arthur Frost.
In Spring, 1926 we see a marked turn in Frost's work towards a more French Impressionist style. He utilizes small, wispy brush strokes with an emphasis on a higher key palette.
Frost's paintings are rare, due to his ill health and untimely death. Also he believed in the pursuit of quality over profit, a value instilled in him by his artistic parents.
Bonhams Auctioneers