Frost, M. H. (McKechnie Section 2)

Recorded by Mr J. A. Pollak ('Fresh Light on Silhouette', Connoisseur, March 1949). The appearance of his work suggests that Frost was working during the late 1820s and early 1830s. Since no example bearing an address or a trade label has been seen, the task of establishing the artist's origins is well-nigh impossible.

Foskett lists a J. Frost (who was working in Exeter as a miniaturist and engraver in 1807 and might have been a member of the profilist's family); also an earlier artist, James Frost, who exhibited portrait miniatures at the Free Society of Artists intermittently 1766-83 and might have been an ancestor. Foskett also lists M. H. Froste, a miniature on card by whom was sold in Brussels 27-29 June 1935 and who may also have been the profilist — perhaps an artist of Belgian origin who visited England for a year or two c. 1830, dropping the final 'e' from his surname when he arrived in Britain. Nevertheless, the profilist wrote reasonably good English, as can be seen from the inscription on the reverse of the illustrated example owned by Pollak.

All the examples available for illustration are silhouettes of men. The appearance of these suggests that Frost began his career as a profilist by painting plain black profiles, and then progressed to painting finely in gum arabic against a dark grey background. The distinctive features of the all-black work include careful definition of the eyebrow, and fine strokes showing the hair at the top of the head and over the forehead. There is nothing individual in the curved bust-line; the shape was used by many other artists.

The illustrated profile which is painted in full detail (mentioned above) has real artistic merit. Thinned black pigment is used against white card; the edge of the waistcoat, the cravat, and the line of the high collar of the shirt against the chin are all well painted, and Frost has been careful to show the buttons of the waistcoat, seen below the fastening of the unusual tail-coat worn by this sitter. This is evidently single-breasted and made without lapels; it is just possible that the sitter is dressed for the evening, for by 1831 (the date shown beneath the bust-line) most tail coats for daytime wear had roll collars. Also, they were more often double-breasted, and nearly always had lapels. The hair is also well painted, and gum arabic has been used against the dark grey back¬ground. A touch of Chinese white is used to mould the shape of the ear. The bust-line is brought to a point (sharper than that on the earlier black profiles) in front: this may have been done to show a glimpse of the paler coloured waistcoat.

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Frost probably used rectangular black reeded frames for his work, and one of the three illustrated profiles has survived in one of these; but the other two examples appear to have been cut to fit papier mâché frames.

The example mentioned by Foskett (in her entry on M. H. Froste) is described as a portrait of a man wearing a black costume, on a terrace, painted on card, and signed 'M. H. Froste pinxit', without a date.

Two of the illustrated silhouettes are signed in minute script lettering beneath the bust-line and in one case the date is added. The third silhouette is unsigned, but is so obviously by the same hand that the attribution seems certain. A typical signature of Frost is illustrated.

Ills. 806-810