Frank Leonard Stick is regarded as an artist of permanent importance. One of the celebrated students of the Howard Pyle School, he was among the most successful artists of the early 20th century. Born on February 10, 1884 in Huron, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota), he spent his childhood in South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. He was extremely fond of the outdoors and learned to hunt, fish, trap and camp during his youth. He also mastered the art of outdoor cooking. Frank's father ran a general store where he worked as a teenager and learned that shop-keeping was not a profession he desired to undertake. He went north to Wisconsin, trapping during the winter and working as a hunting and fishing guide during the summer and fall. During this time he began to sketch the scenes of lakes, mountains, rivers and the wildlife that surrounded them. He learned that outdoor magazines would pay for sporting stories and illustrations.

Stick discovered that he could better interpret the wonders of nature through his artwork than his writing and decided to seek art instruction. He enrolled in the in the Chicago Art Institute in 1904 and sold his first painting to magazine soon afterward for $10.00. This formal instruction and encouragement from his teachers provided Stick with the training and confidence to continue studying art. At the suggestion of one of his teachers, he moved to Delaware to study under the great illustrator Howard Pyle. Pyle's many contacts worked to the advantage of his students, providing venues to sell their work.

In 1909, Stick and his family moved to the Midwest for a time, but returned to the New York area where there was a better market to sell his illustrations. For the next fifteen years, he created hundreds of illustrations for magazines such as , , , and .

By 1929, Stick had given up commercial art and relocated to the Outer Banks. He had visited the area on a fishing trip in the mid-1920's and was impressed with the region as a recreational destination as well as with it's historic attractions. He began to acquire large tracts of land on the Outer Banks knowing that acquisition is often the first step to preservation. He formed several corporations including the Dare County Development Company, creators of the Outer Banks first subdivision, Virginia Dare Shores. Stick also played an active role in the creation of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Virgin Islands National Park. He died in his sleep in 1966.

Stick's work appeared in , , , , and other magazines. Stick painted for his own enjoyment during this period, with the exception of a series of watercolors for in 1950.

Source: Mike Mordell, Windsor, Colorado, private collector of Frank Stick's art and author of the book, , published 2004.