Sir Terry Frost, one of the leading abstract artists of his generation.
Terry Frost rose to prominence in the years following World War II, eventually becoming one of the most respected abstract artists of the twentieth century. Renowned for his use of colour and geometric forms, Frost’s work tends to be a vibrant, joyous celebration of life, nature, and freedom.
Frost was primarily a painter and a printmaker, and his art is especially popular in the United Kingdom. It is prints that dominate his market by accounting for 57% of his work sold at auction, and the majority of them reach prices between £500 and £1,000.
Terry Frost’s personal life undoubtedly influenced his artistic career and output, and as such, it is interesting to know some things about him when considering his work. Therefore, below is a list of six things you may not have known about Terry Frost.
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He Started Making Art As A Prisoner Of War
Terry Frost was born in October 1915 in Leamington Spa. He left school at 14, then proceeded to serve in World War II, which took him to France, the Middle East, and Greece. He was captured in Crete in 1941 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Stalag 383, a German prisoner of war camp in Bavaria.
It was here that he first started to draw and paint using what materials he could scavenge, and it was also here that he met Adrian Heath, an abstract artist who’d already studied at the Slade; in Terry Frost’s words, Heath was “the first person to talk to me seriously about art”, and he both helped and encouraged Frost in his artistic endeavours.
After the war, Frost was determined to become a painter, though he may never have done so had it not been for his time in Stalag. As he later 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.” Indeed, in much of Frost’s work (including Orchard Tambourine B and Halzephron), there is a sense of joy and vitality – an exuberance in the freedom he’d been denied during the war, and a profound gratitude for life.
A view of Stalag 383, prisoner of war camp, Hohenfels, Bavaria, Germany
His Most Expensive Prints Sold For £10,800
The Lorca Suite (also known as Eleven Poems by Frederico García Lorca) is a set of 11 etchings from 1989, each of which is based on a poem by Lorca, the famous Spanish poet. Believed to have been killed by Nationalist forces in 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, Lorca became a symbol of resistance in the face of oppression, and his work has continued to inspire generations ever since.
Terry frost first encountered Lorca’s poetry in the 1970s, and he quickly fell in love with it, saying it “awakened something in me”. Frost’s admiration of Lorca led to him creating these etchings, and they are generally considered to be among the best prints he ever made. They’re also very popular at auction, with one set having been sold by Sotheby’s in November 2005 for £10,800, setting a new record for the artist.
Eleven Poems By Frederico García Lorca (The Lorca Suite) sold by Sotheby’s in 2005
He Was Taught By Some Famous Artists
After being released from the prisoner of war camp, Terry Frost returned to England and decided to pursue a career as an artist. He studied for some time at the Camberwell School of Art under teachers such as William Coldstream, Ben Nicholson, and Victor Pasmore. Frost struggled with some of the more formal and rigorous aspects of art school, and it was Pasmore who suggested he should instead immerse himself “in the best art and artefacts [he could] find” by visiting museums and galleries. Though Frost developed his own style, Pasmore and Nicholson’s influence can be seen in some of his work, including Orchard Tambourine A.
He Was Barbara Hepworth’s Assistant
Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson were two of the most important British artists of the 20th century, and they were key figures in the St Ives artistic community. In the early 1950s, Terry Frost moved to St Ives and took a studio next to Nicholson, and he also became an assistant to Hepworth for a time. The importance of Frost’s relationships with these established figures cannot be denied, and their influence helped shape him into one of the leading abstract artists of his generation.
Many Of His Descendants Followed In His Footsteps
According to one of Terry Frost’s sons, Anthony, painting was “all he thought about. Even when he was in hospital [at the end of his life]. He would open his eyes and turn to me, give me a wink and say ‘I think we should get just one more out.’” This obsession with art has clearly been passed down through the family, as two of Terry Frost’s sons (including Antony) are artists, as is one of his grandsons.
Anthony Frost, song of Terry Frost.
He Was Inspired By Cornwall
Terry Frost spent most of his life living and working in Cornwall, and he’s renowned for his use of Cornish light and colour. This is clear to see in prints such as Halzephron, which was probably inspired by the area around the Halzephron Cliffs, and which embodies the rugged beauty and vibrant colours of the coastline.
Frost always spoke fondly of the Cornish landscape, once describing his home there as “that little bit of land where I am in Cornwall, about 7 miles wide, with the sea on three sides… I can see the sun rise and the sun set from where I am every day. I’m with the gods.”
