Frank Bicknell has traditionally held the honor of having the shortest biography among all the Old Lyme Art Colony artists. No photograph was thought to exist; no one could identify the source of his rumored personal wealth. His output, his American Barbizon landscapes, his Impressionist forest floors dotted with mountain laurel, his highly-keyed views of the Monhegan coast pounded smooth by the ocean – served as bits of visual biography in place of textual evidence.

Bicknell was born in Augusta, Maine on February 17 th, 1866. His father, James Austin Bicknell, a prominent member of the Augusta community and successful entrepreneur, served in the state legislature and was appointed postmaster of Augusta in 1861 by President Lincoln.

Frank Bicknell, the youngest son of a prosperous and established family, enjoyed the freedom to pursue an inherent interest in art. His second cousin, the artist Albion H. Bicknell (1837-1915) was a resident of Malden, Massachusetts and when Frank Bicknell’s family relocated to present-day Brockton in 1870, Frank found himself with a mentor who would direct and encourage the first phase of his artistic career. When James Bicknell died in 1881, Albion offered Frank a home, studio space, and access to a coterie of men who had all achieved fame with the brush.