Frank McCarthy knew from an early age that his passion was art and his parents encouraged him to enroll in New York’s Art Students League. After high school graduation, he studied at Pratt Institute with a major in illustration. McCarthy embarked on his art career as a commercial illustrator in New York City. He painted illustrations for paperback book publishers, magazines, movie companies and advertisements. He left commercial art in 1968, and began his fine art career in Arizona. Frank McCarthy’s dynamic paintings frequently featured the people of the west with an emphasis on the Plains Indian, mountain men and cavalry of the Old West. McCarthy’s art was unsurpassed for its motion, drama and absolute attention to accuracy and detail.