Russel Frost, painter
Russell Frost (American, 1927-1996), Washington.
Purchased in the late 50’s, the intense painting shows a moody sky and overcast city. Lively brushstrokes draw the viewer into the scene. Linen mat with simple cerused frame. Good condition. This painting came from a collector living in Chicago.
“Russell Frost, sold canvases as soon as they were done – often before. He painted in a cabin-hideaway alongside his artist-wife, Betty Frost on Camano Island, WA.
Once he had to take off in a motor home to evade fans who found their way to his door. He was not as famous as his artist friends Kenneth Callahan, Mark Tobey or Eustace Ziegler. He disliked publicity and never had a phone. But his works, sold to aficionados who collected them by the hundreds, are in museums, homes and offices from Seattle to New York.
Born in Port Angeles, he always loved art. At age 15 he apprenticed to Ziegler, spending several years just watching the elder artist paint. Mr. Frost served in the Army infantry in World War II, apprenticing briefly to a combat artist. Then he studied at Burnley School of Art in Seattle, and at Cornish Institute, where he met his wife, Betty Frost.. They married in 1949 and became a team, living in picturesque settings around Puget Sound. He built many of the cabins. He also built boats. Mainly he painted. He often had a dozen canvases going, and frequently sold them to pay the light bill or to buy materials for his next piece.