Note
John "Jack" Frost
(b. 1890, Philadelphia, PA – d. 1937, Pasadena, CA)
TAHQUITZ CANYON
1927, Two-sided oil on canvas, 24 x 28 inches
Jonathan Art Foundation collection
Purchased with major funding from the Jane Lauman Trust
John Frost was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1890 to the famous American illustrator Arthur B. Frost. In 1906 the family moved to Paris where Frost and his father shared a studio. He studied for several years at Academie Julian, and he spent time in Giverny with fellow California painter Guy Rose where they were influenced by Monet and the French Impressionists.
The years 1912-1914 were spent fighting tuberculosis in Switzerland. Upon his recovery, he moved back to New York and set up a studio, illustrating magazines. After establishing himself as a successful illustrator in New York, in 1918 he settled in Pasadena, California, and the beauty and vastness of the California landscapes inspired Frost to create extraordinary paintings.
Frost is known for painting luminous, colorful landscapes of the High Sierras, the deserts around Palm Springs, and village scenes of Southern California.
Like many of his contemporaries who painted on site, Frost composed a painting on each side of this canvas. With a new, custom-designed frame, we are able to periodically rotate this painting to make each side available for viewing.