# A B Frost artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/a-b-frost/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T02:55:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1851-01-17
- Death date: 1928-06-22
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Golden Age of American Illustration
- Common media: Illustration (pen and ink), Oil painting, Lithography, Graphic art, Comics

## About A B Frost

Arthur Burdett Frost (1851–1928), known professionally as A. B. Frost, was an American illustrator, painter, graphic artist, and lithographer celebrated as one of the defining talents of the Golden Age of American Illustration. Born in Philadelphia, Frost was largely self-taught before studying at night classes and spending time in France refining his technique. Over his prolific career he illustrated more than ninety books and contributed regularly to leading periodicals including Harper's Weekly, Punch, and Life. He is best remembered for his illustrations of Br'er Rabbit and the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris, as well as for his remarkably dynamic hunting, shooting, and sporting scenes. Frost's work is noted for its masterful depiction of motion and sequential action, which set a new standard for illustrated narrative in American publishing. He married fellow illustrator Emily Louise Phillips in 1883.

## Common works and media

Frost is most commonly encountered in appraisal and auction contexts as original pen-and-ink illustrations, charcoal drawings, watercolors, and oil paintings. His sporting prints — particularly hunting and shooting scenes — are widely collected. Book illustrations from the Uncle Remus series and other late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century publications appear frequently, both as individual plates and as bound volumes. Hand-colored lithographs and chromolithographs after Frost designs also circulate. Magazine illustrations from Harper's Weekly, Life, and Punch represent another category of his work that surfaces in the market.

## Market and appraisal context

A. B. Frost's works appear regularly at auction, especially his sporting and hunting prints, original pen-and-ink illustrations, and oil paintings. His prolific output means a wide spectrum of material reaches the market, from important original paintings to reproduced book illustrations. Key factors in appraisal include whether a work is an original painting or drawing versus a print or reproduction, the subject matter (sporting scenes and Uncle Remus illustrations tend to attract the strongest collector interest), provenance linking the work to a specific publication or commission, and condition. Collectors should be aware that later reproductions of Frost illustrations are common and should be distinguished from original works.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For A. B. Frost, identity data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, RKD, and Wikidata, with biographical context from the Wikipedia discovery article.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79132179
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/29646
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2865030
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/12578824/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._B._Frost