John Orne Johnson Frost

born Marblehead, Massachusetts died Marblehead, Massachusetts

John Orne Johnson Frost grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and lived there his entire life. As a teenager, he spent summers fishing at sea and worked as a shoemaker during the winter months. He gave up fishing in 1870 to get married and a few years later opened a seafood restaurant and flower shop with his wife. Frost only began to paint and sculpt after his wife's death in 1919. He wanted to re-create the history of Marblehead, and his paintings show scenes of the town from its early wilderness beginnings through the Revolution and the Civil War. In 1926, Frost opened a small gallery to show his work; a short time later, some of his friends saw people laughing at Frosts paintings and urged him to take them down. Frost refused, saying "if that picture of mine makes people laugh, it is serving a very useful purpose. So I guess I'll let it stay right where it is." (Thomas Drier, "Concerning Jack Frost," Marblehead Messenger, 1925, quoted in Martha B. Katz's thesis, 1971)