Frank Girardin was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1856. He studied under Thomas Satterwhite Noble and Frank Duveneck at the Cincinnati Art Academy.

He spent the first part of his career in Richmond, Indiana, and was the director of the Richmond Art Association. Eventually Girardin moved to California, living in Los Angeles first, then Redondo Beach.

September Morning was part of the Permanent Art Exhibit of the Lyric Theatre in Indianapolis. An inscription on the back dates the painting to 1914. The painting still bears its Lyric Theatre exhibit label.

While in Cincinnati, Girardin was an early player for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.