Artist Biography

Frank J. MACKENZIE
1865 - 1939

Frank Joseph MacKenzie was born in London, England on July 27, 1865. He studied in his native city at the Royal Academy where he won the Turner gold medal and a traveling fellowship, and then continued in Paris at Académie Julian. He went to South Africa (his mother's birthplace) as a young man and participated in the first Matabele rebellion in the establishment of Rhodesia and in the Boer War. While in Rhodesia he was a member of the exploring party which located the great Wankle coal field. He came to the United States to design the Boer War exhibit at the St Louis World's Fair of 1904. He moved to San Francisco in 1910 but also maintained a studio-home in Washington, DC. He painted dioramas at many museums across the United States before his death in San Francisco on Dec. 11, 1939. He was the husband of artist Florence Bryant MacKenzie. Works held: Hall of Sciences, African Hall, Golden Gate Park (San Francisco); American Museum of Natural History (New York); Springfield (Massachusetts) Museum; Trenton (New Jersey) Museum; Los Angeles Museum of Science & Arts.

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