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Mount Washington
Attributed to Francis Seth Frost (1825-1902)
Unsigned
Not dated, probably 1850s
Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches, oval
John J. and Joan R. Henderson
In 1853, Boston artist Francis Seth Frost signed the Tip Top House register on Mount Washington after discovering "new falls" during his ascent past Tuckerman Ravine. The following spring, he exhibited one of the earliest canvases of the ravine, his first known New Hampshire work. By 1855, the thirty-year-old former farmer had completed fifty-two landscapes, mostly views of the White Mountains, painted from nature. Mount Washington depicts a popular view from the Intervale in North Conway. Frost established his stylistic signature during these years, one where expansive skies trump mountains and minutely detailed figures interact with nature. Even after 1869, when Frost entered the art supply business, he returned to the Saco River valley and never stopped painting.
