Though fans come to the museum to view the pieces of art that he created in his lifetime, once they find out that some family members still run the place they ask questions about what he was like as a person and, more specifically, a grandfather. You see, it's important to fans that my grandfather was as good of a person as they hoped he was; after all, you don't want your hero to end up having been a villain-- "Don't ever meet your heroes", as the saying goes. Luckily, I'm able to tell everyone who asks that he was a more wonderful grandfather than he was an artist, and that's saying something!

Some people have the idea that he was a very serious, strict man; no funny business allowed, and that he ran the show. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. He was the kindest, most thoughtful person you could ever know. I tell people that he was all about his family, and his artwork was a way to make sure that he could work from home to spend more time with everyone. Whether you were family or a stranger, if you walked into his studio he would stop painting; it wasn't because he didn't want you to watch, it was because he would rather sit and talk with you. I was fortunate that my father, Frank Jr, built my family home only 300-yards from that of my grandparents which meant that I was able to visit them whenever I wanted (which was quite often). 

As for how he was as a grandfather to me and my siblings, we couldn't have been more fortunate. He never yelled at us or scolded us for anything, and he always had a big smile on his face whenever we visited. I would walk over to his house, knock on his studio door, wait a few seconds for him to open up, and then hang out with him all day. Other times he'd walk over to my house and hang out there; living on the estate allowed me to foster a very close relationship with my grandparents, and I'll be forever grateful for that. I always enjoyed conversations with him, whether the topic was on baseball, Seinfeld, firearms, aviation, or anything else from the myriad of things we talked about. Not a lot of people are aware of this, but he had an original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that he loved to play with us kids, and it was a nice way to bridge the generational gap we had between us.

Today I am thankful to you, the fans, for helping support us at the museum. When people ask why we don't sell our artwork I say there are two primary reasons: first and foremost, the museum was a dream of my grandparents', and they wanted to make sure the art was viewable to anyone who wanted to see it. Second, and more relevant to the current topic, is that every time I look at a piece of his artwork I get to relive a part of the relationship I had with him. He had put his time, effort, and soul into these pieces, and viewing them lets me say "This is who my grandfather was!". So thank you for that :)  I love and miss you very much, Grandpa! Thank you for everything you've done for me and for being such a great influence on my life.
Pictures posted are portraits of me and my siblings and also some family photos! As always, the Frazetta Art Museum in PA  is open from Thursday-Sunday from 10AM-4PM!

-William Frazetta