Frye was born at Edenderry, County Offaly, Ireland, in 1710; in his youth he went to London to practice as an artist. His earliest works are a pair of pastel portraits of boys, one dated 1734 (Earl of Iveagh). For the Worshipful Company of Saddlers he painted a full-length portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales (1736, destroyed 1940), which he engraved in mezzotint and published in 1741.
Frye was born at Edenderry, County Offaly, Ireland, in 1710; as a young man, he traveled to London to hone his artistic skills. His earliest masterpieces are a pair of pastel portraits of boys, one dated 1734 (Earl of Iveagh). For the Worshipful Company of Saddlers, he created a full-length portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales (1736, destroyed in 1940), which he later engraved and published in 1741.