An exhibition of painting and prints by Anthony Frost and Sir Terry Frost
An exhibition of painting and prints by Anthony Frost and Sir Terry Frost
ANTHONY FROST
Anthony Frost was born in St Ives, Cornwall and is the son of artist Sir Terry Frost. From 1970 - 1973 he studied at the Cardiff College of Art gaining a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. Since then he has exhibited widely throughout the UK, with regular shows in St Ives and London, and has also lectured at Falmouth School of Art, Canterbury School of Art and various universities throughout the country. He works from a studio near Penzance, and is a prominent member of the artistic community of West Cornwall and beyond.
Anthony Frost is noted for his abstract works consisting of brightly coloured prints and collages. His paintings include repeated motifs (lines, triangles and dots) and a mix of materials (acrylic, hessian, sail cloth, string and any other materials that come to hand).
SIR TERRY FROST RA
British artist Sir Terry Frost RA (b. 1915-2003) was a leading figure in British abstract art, and one of the most significant printmakers of the twentieth century. Born in Leamington Spa in 1915, Frost left school at the age of 14 and worked at Curry's Cycle shop and then Armstrong Whitworth in Coventry until the outbreak of war. He served in countries as diverse as Palestine and Greece, before being captured in 1941. Frost remained a prisoner until the end of the war, an experience that changed his outlook on life and introduced him to the possibilities of art. Whilst being held prisoner in Bavaria, Frost began to paint and draw, encouraged by young artist and fellow prisoner Adrian Heath.
He once said: “In the prisoner-of-war camp I got tremendous spiritual experience, a more aware or heightened perception during starvation, and I honestly do not think that awakening has ever left me.” On his return to Britain, Frost moved to St. Ives in Cornwall to be amongst the burgeoning artistic community there. Excluding brief stints in other locations, St. Ives and its local environs was where Frost lived and worked for the rest of his life and his work reflects the inspiration he found in the Cornish light, glittering seas and watery reflections. He attended the St. Ives School of Art before spending 1947 - 1950 commuting to London in order to attend the Camberwell School of Art. His early work was figurative, but it was the influence of Victor Pasmore at Camberwell combined with that of Ben Nicholson that led Frost to paint his first abstract painting on 1949.
Frost worked as Barbara Hepworth's assistant in 1951 and had his first solo exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in 1952. Frost taught at many institutions including the Bath Academy of Art (1952-1954), Leeds University (who awarded him he was the Gregory Fellowship in 1954) and Reading University. By 1960, Frost had his first solo show in New York at the Barbara Schaefer Gallery, and whilst he was there, he met some of the leading American Abstract Expressionists; an experience that soon encouraged him to start painting on a much larger scale. Frost was awarded the John Moore's Prize in 1965, elected to the Royal Academy in 1992, and granted a knighthood in 1998. A retrospective of the artist’s work was held at the Royal Academy in London in 2000. Frost sadly passed away in 2003 aged 87, but his legacy lives on and his works continue to be a vital part of public collections such as the Tate Gallery (London), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), and the National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh).
