Background
Oscar was born a son of C. Friström of Sweden, and may have come to Australia as a sailor.
Oscar was born a son of C. Friström of Sweden, and may have come to Australia as a sailor.
He worked for a time in Hutchison"s Elite Photographic Studios in Queen Street, Brisbane before taking up painting as a full-time occupation. He was largely self-taught, but his second oil painting was of sufficient merit to be shown at the 1886 Brisbane Exhibition. This led to R. Godfrey Rivers working for the foundation of the Queensland National Art Gallery.
He returned to Brisbane in September 1894.
The Society of Artists went into decline around 1901. In 1904 a new Society of Artists was formed.
Meetings were held in Fristrom"s studio in "Oakden Chambers", Queen Street. Oscar married Caroline Rooke (1865 – 17 July 1948) of Breakfast Creek, Queensland.
In 1911 they settled at Mooloolah, Queensland, later moved to Caloundra, then 52 Wharf Street, Brisbane.
She was well known as a musician and music teacher. They had two children:
Alma Christina (6 July 1889 – 2 December 1943) married Samuel Burgess. They lived at Caloundra.
Oscar had a brother Edward Friström, also an artist in Brisbane, and from 1903 in New Zealand.
Dying in 1918, his funeral moved from the funeral parlour of John Hislop & Sons to the South Brisbane Cemetery.
He was, with L. West. K. Wirth, James Laurence Watts, and Walter Jenner, in 1888 a founding member of the Queensland Art Society. He left for Adelaide in September 1893, where he found employment with Fritz & Company photographic studio, and in November was accepted as a member of the Adelaide Easel Club. Fristrom was its president at the time of his death, as well as a member of the advisory board of the Queensland National Art Gallery.
Another brother, Tage Edward Friström, a member of the United States Voluntary Infantry, was killed in 1898 fighting Spain in Manila.