SAN JACINTO PEAK PAINTED BY JOHN FROST

JOHN FROST (1890-1937)

 San Jacinto Peak  (3,302 m - 10,834 ft) 

 United States of America (California) 

1. In  Mount San Jacinto, Whitewater Wash, 1926, oil on canvas

2. In Mount San Jacinto, 1928, oil on canvas

The mountain

San Jacinto Peak  (3,302 m - 10,834 ft) often designated Mount San Jacinto, is the highest peak of the San Jacinto Mountains, and of Riverside County, California. It lies within Mount San Jacinto State Park. To the Cahuilla Indians, the peak was known as I a kitch (or Aya Kaich), meaning "smooth cliffs." It was the home of Dakush, the meteor and legendary founder of the Cahuilla. Naturalist John Muir wrote of San Jacinto Peak, "The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!".  From the peak, San Gorgonio Mountain can be seen across the San Gorgonio Pass. Also easily visible below is the Coachella Valley and the Salton Sea. In addition, much of the Inland Empire, including Ontario to the west, can be viewed on a clear day.

San Jacinto Peak is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the United States. It is ranked sixth among peaks in the 48 contiguous states. Mount San Jacinto is one of the "Four Saints", a name occasionally used to describe the high points of the four mountains over 10,000 feet named for Catholic saints in Southern California: San Jacinto Peak, Mount San Gorgonio (high point of the San Bernardino Mountains), San Bernardino Peak, and Mount San Antonio (high point of the San Gabriel Mountains).

Known for its spectacular north escarpment, the peak rises 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above San Gorgonio Pass. It plays host to the famous Cactus to Clouds Trail.
The first successful ascent of the difficult northeast escarpment was made in 1931 by Floyd Vernoy and Stewart White of Riverside.
Source: 
-Mount San Jacinto State Park  website

The painter

John (Jack) Frost was an American artist who holds a high place in the California school of Impressionism. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 14, 1890 and his initial art training came from his famous father, Arthur B. Frost who was known as an illustrator.  Later John Frost traveled to France to study at the Academie Julian under Richard Miller and Jean-Paul Laurens. 

For reasons of health, Frost decided to relocate to Pasadena, California in 1918. In California, he became a highly respected artist, his paintings show the influence of his training in French Impressionism. Inspired by his new surroundings, Frost glorified the California landscape with atmospheric and impressionistic renderings of the Sierra Nevada mountains, sunsets, meadows, the small town of Lone Pine, California, shacks in Palm Springs, the arid California desert with pink verbena flowers and the coastal sand dunes near Carmel.

Frost exhibited and sold his paintings at the Stendhal Gallery that was located at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He was a member of the California Art Club, Painters and Sculptors of Los Angeles and the Pasadena Society of Fine Arts. He was awarded the Gold Medal at the Painters and Sculptors in 1924. 

His works can be found in the Gardena High School collection, the Irvine Museum collection, Irvine, California and important private collections. John Frost died at the young age of forty-seven in Pasadena.