John Herman Frisk

In the morning of February 1st, 2016, at his home in center city Philadelphia, John H. Frisk passed away at the age of 75. Jack's death is mourned by his son George Evearts, his daughter-in-law Irma Evearts, and his granddaughter Emily Evearts, along with a multitude of friends and extended family who consider their lives to have been dramatically enriched by his most loving and generous friendship. John H. Frisk was born on August 5, 1940 at 617 St. Claire Street, Latrobe, Pennsylvania (Westmoreland County, in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area). After high school, he left Latrobe for New York City, where he studied art history and design at New York University and The Parsons School of Design. After graduating in the early 1960s, Jack worked for Rose Cumming the renowned New York interior decorator whose shop at the corner of 59th Street & Park Avenue had been a pilgrimage destination for enthusiasts of the decorative arts for decades. With the experience of several years of exposure to the New York art world Jack settled in Philadelphia, where he took a job at the auction house of Samuel T. Freeman & Co. (now "Freeman's"), where he trained to become an appraiser of art and antiques as well as an auctioneer. In the early 1970s Jack founded his own appraisal firm, John H. Frisk Appraisers, Inc., which came to include William N. Schultz and then the late James E. Buckley before founding, with the latter, a second company in 1976 dedicated to the retail sale of high-end art objects consigned from major estates. Jack then moved both businesses from his original offices at 1701 Walnut Street to the Mezzanine level of 1611 Walnut, which he had just renovated into posh gallery space for The Fine Arts Company of Philadelphia. The following summer he
hired David Borodin as an apprentice appraiser and researcher for the appraisal firm while training him also to become the Fine Arts Company's auctioneer. The firm maintained the retail gallery at 1611 Walnut while also holding auctions of fine and decorative arts on the first floor of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania at 13th & Locust Streets during the late 1970s (before the Society's renovations to its original library design). Additionally, he took the company on location throughout the east coast to perform lavish single-owner estate auctions. After selling The Fine Arts Company of Philadelphia, Frisk and Borodin returned full time to the original appraisal business, which became Frisk & Borodin Appraisers, Ltd., eventually settling into offices at 2043 Walnut, where the firm remained for over two decades until 2004, when John Frisk retired from the business. (David Borodin continued to run the appraisal firm for yet another five years before closing it down to relocate to the Northwest.) Jack is remembered as an irresistible inspirer of careers in the arts. Himself an astute collector of art, antiques, and books, he followed the Philadelphia art scene with zeal, attending with particular attention the annual student shows at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Over the years he befriended numerous young artists in whom he saw specific promise and generously gave of his time and resources toward inspiring their career development. And over a period of three decades, soirées hosted by Jack at his center city home had become tantamount to family gatherings for an entire generation of Philadelphia's artist elite. Memorial contributions may be made to The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. A memorial service will be held at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with the day and time to be determined.