J.O.J. Frost

John Orne Johnson Frost (January 2, 1852 – November 3, 1928), who signed his work as J. O. J. Frost, was an early 20th century American folk artist. He began painting at the age of 70, without receiving any formal training. Frost considered himself a historian, not an artist, and his paintings portrayed daily life in the fishing village of Marblehead, Massachusetts, during the mid-19th century, as well as the town’s colonial history. His work can be viewed in the collections of numerous museums including the Marblehead Museum (Marblehead, Massachusetts), the Fenimore Art Museum (Cooperstown, New York), the Shelburne Museum (Shelburne, Vermont) and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C,).

Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts on January 2, 1852, John Orne Johnson Frost lived his early life in a house on Front Street next to Marblehead Harbor. Frost grew up listening to the stories of the local fishermen about the history of Marblehead, and these stories would serve as a major source of inspiration in Frost's later work.

At the age of sixteen, Frost went to sea, first on the fishing vessel Josephine in 1868 and then on the Oceania in 1869. The Oceania was nearly lost in a snow storm, and after this experience Frost would never go to sea again. As an old man, J.O.J. wrote down his memories of those experiences.Along with other archival materials, his memoir became the basis for a historical novel, Molly Waldo: A Young Man’s First Voyage to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Adapted from the Stories of Marblehead Fishermen of the 1800s.

Frost married Amy Ann ("Annie") Lillibridge in 1873 and they never parted until her death. Frost worked a variety of odd jobs, first as a carpenter’s apprentice to his strict uncle. Next, he cooked at his father-in-law's restaurant “Lillibridge's,” before opening his own restaurant. On Christmas night of 1888, the Second Great Fire of Marblehead destroyed 50 buildings; one of them was Frost’s eatery. Annie’s brother invited him to be partners, so once again Frost manned the stove at the Lillibridge restaurant, until 1893.

J.O.J. left the cookstove to help with his wife's business of growing and selling cut flowers. Annie Frost had become known as a gardening authority and her “Old Fashioned Garden” was featured as an illustrated booklet, published in 1902. Her specialty was sweet peas, a very popular flower at the turn of the century. Planted in rows, with distinct colors and names, the fragrant varieties bore delightful names, such as Blanche Burpee, Othello, Royal Rose, Lovely, and Apple Blossom. Her entrepreneurial talents were the subject of an article in McCall’s magazine in 1911.

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