[1] Frith was a faculty member at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1952 until his retirement in 1989, and was the chair of the crafts department for many years.

A World War II veteran, Frith served in the United States Navy as a Seabee[1] in the Philippines.

He was awarded on two occasions a Danforth Foundation grant to study at the Alfred University where he received a Master of Fine Arts in 1966.

Frith was among the artists in an exhibition called "American Craftsman" at the Dallas Museum of Art from February 19 to March 11, 1956.

That is where he developed his favorite artistic form, intricate teapots shaped like flowers with complex wooden handles.

[11] In 2017, the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art held an exhibition of Frith's work from September 1 through to October 29, 2017.

[dubious – discuss][citation needed] He met his wife Barbara (née Tepfer) at Denver University, and they were married in 1949.