Frank with his wife, Barbara.

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Frank was born in 1931. At Winchester (MA) High School, Frank was the first student to have a solo art exhibit. From that time on, art remained a part of his life. While serving in the U. S. Army during the Korean War, Frank was named company artist in Japan and battalion artist in Korea. He specialized in a style called trompe l'oeil, a French phrase meaning "to deceive the eye." A close examination of many of his paintings will show images spilling out onto what seems to be a frame and objects that look as if they can be plucked off the canvas, as well as small notes to be read by the observant viewer.

 

Lending to Frank's life experience was a period that he simply called his "beatnik era", living the adventurous life of a free spirit for two years traveling across the U. S. six times by hitchhiking, and occasionally riding the rails. On another trip, he and his friend Lenny put a small piano, two bunks and a guitar in the back of a 1953 International panel truck, setting out for their destination, Mexico City, where they climbed "The Pyramids of the Sun." Along the way, they earned gas and food money by doing farm work, sometimes relying on the rescue missions for food. They also panned for gold in Northern California.

 

Among the artists from whom Frank drew inspiration are Norman Rockwell, Winslow Homer, Artemisia Gentileschi, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Edward Hopper, and trompe l'oeil master David Brega. Although primarily self-taught, Frank was fortunate to study on occasion under Brega.

 

Frank eventually met his wife, Barbara, whom he settled down with in Hanover, Massachusetts. After focusing on raising his two sons and a near-death experience in 1998, he resumed painting. He spent his final years in his barn studio (dubbed "Purr Cat Lane Studios") filled to the brim with reference books, cut files, supplies, props ranging from an old whisk broom to a dried blowfish, and items retrieved from the local swap shop at the town transfer station.

 

Frank won numerous awards for his paintings and his work has been displayed in various galleries and exhibits throughout Massachusetts. Frank lived in Hanover for 45 years until his passing in 2010. Frank's family continues to share his work with new admirers.