He was educated in the Newark public schools and in 1881 joined his brother Charles Hercules Rutan in the studio of architect Henry Hobson Richardson in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Early in 1886 Richardson sent Russell to Pittsburgh, where he joined Frank E. Alden in superintending that building's construction.

While work was still underway, Richardson died, and the firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge was formed to succeed to the practice.

When it was finished in 1888, Rutan remained the firm's representative in Pittsburgh, supervising other projects including the Masonic Temple (1888) and the Shadyside Presbyterian Church (1889-90).

[4] Frederick A. Russell then formed a partnership with Eric Fisher Wood, who had joined the firm a year before.