J.O.J. Frost by Katie Galvin
If you are into local art, then you may have heard of John Orne Johnson Frost, also known as J.O.J. Frost. He lived in Marblehead, Massachusetts from 1852 to 1923, claiming it was “the best place to live on Earth.” He is honored at the Marblehead Museum with the J.O.J. Frost Gallery and has work displayed at the Jeremiah Lee Mansion. Earlier in his life, he worked as a fisherman but soon gave that up to help run a local seafood restaurant. He and his wife, Lillie, had a happy marriage. But in 1919, Lillie committed suicide. Gutted over the loss of his wife, he began to work on art at the age of 70. Much of his artwork was conceived as “models of ships, buildings, birds, and fish.” Over the course of his art career, he made 130 paintings and 40 wood carvings. Frost considered himself a folk artist as he only was into art for himself, so he never sold his work. The goal was to preserve the history of Marblehead. Citations J.O.J. Frost at Marblehead Museum American Art Marblehead Ma...