Jacob Frymire (c. 1765 - 1822) was an American itinerant painter. Little is known of Frymire's early life or training, and what details of his career are known have been traced either through the signatures on his paintings or via local property records in

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

and Cumberland Counties,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. His family had ties to Lancaster County, and it has been posited that his early career centered there and in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. His father moved to

Franklin County, Pennsylvania Franklin County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Cha ...

, and Jacob had followed him there by the mid-1790s, traveling as well to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in search of work. In 1799, 1800, and 1801 he went to

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, painting members of the local business community. He continued to visit the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

over the next several years; 1803 found him in

Warrenton, Virginia Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 10,057 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 9,611 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and 6,670 at ...

, and in 1805 he was in Winchester once more. In 1806 he is recorded working in Woodford County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

; his subjects there had ties to earlier locations he had worked, suggesting that he relied on word-of-mouth recommendations to find subjects. Frymire owned property in

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania Shippensburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Cumberland and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin counties in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensb ...

, and lived there with his wife, Sarah, and family, which grew to ten children, one born posthumously. In later years he was a farmer, working land left to him on his father's death in 1816; the tax rolls of Franklin and Cumberland Counties, between 1807 and 1820, list him as both farmer and limner. His will was written two months before his death. Stylistically Frymire is typical of the itinerant portrait painters active in the southern United States during the early 19th century. His portrait of Captain Charles McKnight, dating to 1800, is owned by the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. A portrait of William Washington Black, dated 1816-1819 and said to be from

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, is in the collection of the

Winterthur Museum Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana in the United States. The museum and estate were the home of Henry Francis du Pont ...

. His portrait of Amelia (Heiskell) Lauck, dated 1810-1815, is held by the

Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts Old Salem is a historic district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, which was originally settled by the Moravian community in 1766. It features a living-history museum which interprets the restored Moravian community. The non- ...

. A 1791 portrait said to be of Daniel Clarke can be found in the

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) is the United States' first and the world's oldest continually operated museum dedicated to the preservation, collection, and exhibition of American folk art. Located just outside the historic ...

. Frymire was the subject of an exhibition at the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

in 1975.

References

{{Authority control 1760s births 1822 deaths American male painters 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists People from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania Painters from Pennsylvania Farmers from Pennsylvania Naïve painters