Frederick John Mulhauptwas born in Rockport, Missouri in 1871. He apprenticed to an itinerant painter in Kansas City, enrolled in the Kansas City School of Design and then at the Art Institute of Chicago. There he earned much respect as an artist, and in 1895 he was one of the founding members of the Palette and Chisel Club. He stayed in Chicago for many years, eventually becoming an instructor in figure classes at the Art Institute.

In 1904, he moved to New York and lived at the Salmagundi Club. He traveled and spent several years in Paris, exhibiting at the Paris Salon and enjoying the exploration of modernist art movements. He returned to New York but spent his summers in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He moved to the Cape Ann area in 1922, and remained there for the rest of his life. He was known for his skillful depictions of the landscape and seascapes of Cape Ann. He captured the essence of the area, which was a favorite spot of Winslow Homer and Fitz Hugh Lane.