Russell Frost “Small Town” Original Oil Painting

Design Plus Gallery presents “Small Town” an original painting by Russell Frost (American, 1927-1996), Washington. Purchased in the late 50’s, the intense riverside painting shows a moody sky and overcast town reflected in the nearby waterway. Lively brushstrokes draw the viewer into the scene. Linen mat with simple cerused frame. Good condition.

“Russell Frost, chain-painting and chain-smoking in a cabin-hideaway alongside his artist-wife, used to sell canvases as soon as they were done – often before.

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 cheaply 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, now of Camano Island. 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.”