Frost & Adams: Boston's Historic Artist Supply Landmark

In 1869, artist Francis Seth Frost and retailer E.H. Adams acquired a small supply business in Boston, transforming it into New England's most trusted source for art materials.

A Boston Institution Takes Shape

Frost & Adams opened in 1869 when Francis Seth Frost, an artist, and E.H. Adams, an experienced retailer, purchased the existing business of Matthew J. Whipple. The shop found its home on Cornhill, a commercial corridor in downtown Boston—the very ground that would later become home to the city's government center.

The partnership proved timely. In the late 19th century, Boston's artistic community was growing, and demand for quality art supplies was outpacing supply. By the 1880s, Frost & Adams had become "the chief dealers in artists' materials in New England," a distinction that reflected both the quality of their stock and the trust they'd earned among painters, illustrators, and sculptors throughout the region.

The Heart of Cornhill

The store's location on Cornhill placed it at the center of Boston's commercial life. Cornhill was then a bustling street in the downtown district, a destination for shoppers and professionals alike. Frost & Adams would have been a familiar sight to anyone serious about art in Boston—a go-to source for pigments, brushes, canvas, paper, and other supplies that serious artists needed.

Today, the exact footprint of Frost & Adams lies beneath Boston City Hall and City Hall Plaza, the modernist complex completed in the 1960s. The building that housed the store, like many of the structures along Cornhill, was demolished to make way for urban renewal.

A Legacy of Access

What Frost & Adams represented was more than retail. In an era before online ordering and global shipping, a well-stocked local supplier meant the difference between an artist being able to pursue their craft seriously or making do with inferior materials. By establishing themselves as New England's premier source, Frost & Adams supported countless creative endeavors—from studio painters to commercial illustrators working across the region.

Though the physical store is gone, absorbed into the modern cityscape, Frost & Adams remains part of Boston's cultural memory: a reminder of the city's 19th-century artistic vitality and the neighborhood businesses that sustained it.

Source: Wikipedia — CC BY-SA 4.0