Collections Database

Description:
naively painted street scene with seven buildings, cows at lower left, chickens in center; some buildings labeled with their names

Label Text:
Like Anna Mary Robertson ("Grandma Moses"),J.O.J. Frost was a 20th century naïve or folk artist. Like her, he did not become an artist until later in life, in his case after he was widowed and began to paint scenes of his native Marblehead, where he lived his entire life. His short career lasted only about six years, from 1922 until his death, but he was remarkably prolific, producing not only his personal interpretations of Marblehead history but fish carvings. He opened his own museum on land behind his house in 1924. Frost's work draws on his own early experience as a seagoing fisherman but also records the history of Marblehead. This painting, titled "Pond Street" on the panel, shows Frost's neighborhood (he lived at 11 Pond). Frost has labeled and in some cases dated the buildings, as well as indicating the "Indian Burying Ground" where cows contentedly graze.

Subjects:
Animals; Buildings; Cities and towns

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1999.51.2

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