The A.B. Frost Book

Book excerpt: A famous illustrator amd sporting artist, A.B. Frost is perhaps best known for his naturalistic hunting and shooting prints, scenes that capture the drama of the sport-a hunter poised to shoot and a dog on point-all elements masterfully integrated into a richly detailed woodland or marsh setting. Frost chronicled aspects of America's cultural life for over five decades. From the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, his art appeared in the most popular books and publications of the time, including Harper's Weekly, Scibner's and Life magazines. Like all of his art, Frost's illustrations always envoked the very essence of a setting and its mood-whether depicting the hilarious escapades of the entire family cat or farm dog, or the serene pastoral lifestyle of his native northeast. This survey of Frost's life and work encompasses his early work in book illustration for such authors as Theodore Roosevelt and Lewis Carroll, his long and productive years at Harper & Brothers and Charles Scribner's Sons, and his collaboration with Joel Chandler Harris on the Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit books, which have become classics of American literature and illustration. The author's research has revealed important information on Frost's years as a student with Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, as well as his association with Lewis Carroll. Frost's accomplishments have been broadened by many new sporting pictures and an important group of sketches for the Uncle Remus books. With over 116 illustrations, including 56 in color, The A.B. Frost Book represents and up-to-date appraisal of Frost's life and art.