Born in Motherwell and trained at the Glasgow School of Art, Frood was a protégé of Scottish Colourist, J.D.Fergusson, and a founder member of his left-leaning New Art Club and New Scottish Group, which were both set up during WWII. Frood’s high octane vision of rural life drew on the expressive painting of Vincent Van Gogh and Chaim Soutine. 

Millie Frood, 1900-1988

Born in Motherwell, near Glasgow, Frood studied at Glasgow School of Art. She was a founder member of the New Art Club, set up by the Scottish Colourist J.D. Fergusson in 1940 as a democratic and informal discussion and exhibiting society. Three years later Fergusson formed the New Scottish Group, of which Frood was also a member. Both groups had left-wing sympathies, and although there was no common style among the artists they shared an interest in the expressionist approach of Van Gogh and Soutine. Another important influence was the work of the artist Josef Herman, an émigré from Poland, who lived in Glasgow from 1940 to 1943.