Artist and poet Frederick Oakes Sylvester studied at the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston, graduating with honors in just three years. After briefly teaching at Newcomb College at Tulane University in New Orleans, he relocated to St. Louis in 1892, where he became art director at Central High School. Beginning in 1901, Sylvester also served as art director at The Principia, where he taught for fourteen years.

In 1902, Sylvester purchased a cottage overlooking the Mississippi River in the village of Elsah, Illinois, north of St. Louis. This proved to be a defining moment in his artistic development. Within a few years, the subject of his work shifted from the gritty urban scenes of the St. Louis riverfront and the Eads Bridge to the quiet landscapes and atmospheric vistas surrounding Elsah. Paintings from this period place Sylvester firmly within the Tonalist tradition, though his distinctive use of blue set his work apart from many of his contemporaries.

Sylvester’s work was widely recognized during his lifetime. He exhibited with the Society of Western Artists and the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, organizations in which he also held leadership roles. He received a bronze medal at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and a silver medal at the Portland Exposition.

In 1911, the St. Louis Art Museum presented an exhibition of eighty-three of his paintings. That same year, Sylvester published The Great River, a collection of poetry illustrated with photographs of his paintings. Today, his work can be found in the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri Historical Society, and the St. Louis Public Library.

Sylvester died in 1915 at the age of forty-five, though his legacy remains closely tied to The Principia and the artistic history of Elsah, Illinois. Today, Principia College includes the site of Sylvester’s cottage, and one of its dormitories is named in his honor.