Arthur Burdett Frost (1851-1928)
The Farmer's Pride, 1904
signed "A.B. Frost" lower left
watercolor and gouache, 24 1/2 by 18 in
titled with artist's annotations on the back by A.B. Frost.
A copy of
A Book of Drawings by A. B. Frost is included with this lot.
PigsA man behavin' like a pig's a shock to Natur's plan,
And any decent pig's ashamed to imitate a man;
Fer when a pig acts human-like, I guess he kind o' feels
He's sort o' doin' violence to some o' his ideels."
--Wallace Irwin in "A Book of Drawings"by A.B. Frost
Arthur B. Frost was born in Philadelphia in 1851, but spent his most prolific years in New Jersey. Considered one of the great illustrators of the Golden Age of American Illustration, he illustrated more than ninety books and produced thousands of illustrations for “Harper’s Weekly,” “Scribner’s,” and “Life” magazines. Frost’s illustrative work chronicles the mood and details of the daily life of farmers, hunters, and fishermen, as well as barnyards and pastoral motifs. By 1876, he was on Harper’s staff working on many books, including "Tom Sawyer", "Uncle Remus", and "Mr. Dooley". He also illustrated Theodore Roosevelt’s sporting book, "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman". Frost was an ardent sportsman who spent his summers and autumns fishing, rowing, and hunting ducks and snipe. He completed hundreds of watercolors and oils of the New Jersey seaside. Frost is best known for his hunting and shooting prints which capture the drama of sport in realistic, detailed settings. Frost lived at his estate, Moneysunk, in Convent Station, New Jersey.
Provenance: Private Collection, Florida
Literature: A.B. Frost, "A Book of Drawings", New York, NY, 1904, illustrated.
Condition
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