One of the leading American artists in the plein air tradition, West Fraser has built his career on richly painted, atmospheric views of cities, coasts, and the country in the United States and internationally—from the pristine sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia, to the hill towns of Tuscany. An inveterate traveler, he has painted in Bermuda, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Honduras, Italy, France, and extensively throughout America.

His works have been exhibited at the Grand Central Art Galleries in New York City, the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, the Springfield Museum of Art in Ohio, Santa Catalina Island and Laguna in California.

In 2000, Fraser’s art was included in the bicentennial celebration calendar published for the White House Historic Association. Over two decades of the artist’s work culminated in a major monograph, Charleston in My Time: The Paintings of West Fraser published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2001, and accompanied by an exhibition that traveled to the Greenville County, Gibbes, and Morris art museums in 2002 and 2003. He has also exhibited paintings at the United States Embassy in Tanzania, as part of the highly distinguished Art in Embassies program of the U.S. Department of State. Since 2003, he has also had several paintings on display in the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion.

In June 2004, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford appointed Fraser to the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Arts Commission and together with his wife Helena Fox, opened their gallery Fraser Fox Fine Art in the French Quarter of Charleston, South Carolina.