He first came to the territory in 1935, when he traveled to Unalakleet to visit his uncle, Charles Traeger, who ran a trading post there and spent 2 years developing a portfolio of Alaskan scenes.

He returned in 1942 after volunteering with the U.S. Navy and requesting a posting to the Aleutian Islands during World War II.

After the war, he trained for a short time at the Art Students League in New York, studying lithography under Will Barnet, and then returned to Unalakleet in 1946.

The works at the show sold quickly, and the success allowed Fred to pursue painting full-time.

He then applied a transparent oil glazing technique to build up layers from there, emphasizing areas of color and form.