Artist Biography

Anna Stewart ROOT
1872 - 1955

Anna Stewart Root was born in Topeka, Kansas on February 16, 1872. She came to San Francisco with her family about 1876. The Roots lived in a hotel on Rincon Hill before settling into a home at 1814 Steiner. As a young woman Anna spent many summers at Sutter Creek with her great-uncle Sam Stewart. This was her initial acquaintance with the Mother Lode country where she later lived. Her mother, Ida Wildman, was the niece of Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada and during part of Anna's childhood she lived in his home in Washington, DC. During the 1890s Anna studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute and continued in Paris with Deschamps. Shortly before 1900 she moved with her family to Oakland to a large home at 1906 6th Avenue. After her marriage in 1903 to Carlton Frost, a San Francisco businessman and musician, she lived in San Rafael until 1910. Due to her husband's ill health, they moved to a ranch at Shaws Flat near Sonora. During the next 15 years she had little time for painting while devoting her energies to ranching and homemaking. Following the death of her husband, she began painting again and in 1928 had an exhibition in Morgan Creek. During the Depression her ranch was a haven for her family, including nephew George Post who painted with her frequently. Mary DeNeale Morgan was also a favorite sketching partner. Mrs. Frost died at her ranch on May 23, 1955. Exhibited: San Francisco Art Ass'n, 1890-1906; Mark Hopkins Institute, 1898; California. Statewide (Santa Cruz), 1930; Oakland Art League, 1930s; San Francisco Museum of Art Inaugural, 1935; California Historical Society, 1967 (retrospective). Works held: California Historical Society.

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