Frank Sauerwein received his first art training from his father, Charles. He continued his studies at the Philadelphia School of Industrial Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago.

The artist suffered from Tuberculosis and, in search of a drier climate, he moved to Denver, Colorado around 1891. In Colorado, he traveled with fellow artist, Charles Craig, and the pair visited a Ute reservation located near Colorado Springs. He later traveled in europe, lived for a time in Santa Cruz, California and then in Taos, New Mexico from 1906 to 1908. He is best known for his paintings of Native Americans and the American West.