Frank Oscar Lind III was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and grew up in the adjoining town of Cumberland. The eldest of eight children, he watched the fields and farms of his home town change to suburbs and city. He was able to make a studio in the basement of his childhood home, and early inspirations ranged from Michelangelo to science fiction illustration.

Lind attended Georgetown University in Washington DC, receiving a BA in Fine Arts in 1970. He moved to New York City in 1971 and earned an MFA from Pratt Institute, where he was Dean of the School of Art and Design for ten years and is now a full professor. The museums and galleries of New York City continue to be a source of inspiration, as do the beaches and waves of the nearby Atlantic ocean.  He also makes vision quests to the great museums of Europe whenever possible.