Frank H. Johnston

Frank Hans Johnston (1888–1949), later known as Franz Johnston, was a Canadian painter and founding member of the Group of Seven. Born in Toronto, he studied at the Ontario College of Art and later trained in the United States before returning to Canada to work as a commercial artist with Grip Ltd., where he met fellow artists J.E.H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael, and Arthur Lismer. Johnston’s early paintings reflected the Group’s shared interest in depicting the rugged Canadian landscape, and he participated in the Group of Seven’s inaugural exhibition in 1920. His works from this period are known for their decorative qualities, use of pattern, and a strong sense of design, setting his style apart from some of his contemporaries.

Unlike many of his peers, Johnston pursued a more independent career path, leaving the Group of Seven as early as 1921 to focus on his own exhibitions and teaching. He served as principal of the Winnipeg School of Art and later taught at the Ontario College of Art, influencing a generation of young artists. In the 1920s, he began exhibiting under the name “Franz Johnston,” producing luminous landscapes of northern Ontario, the Arctic, and western Canada. Though his time with the Group of Seven was brief, Johnston’s prolific output and distinctive vision contributed to the broader movement to establish a national school of Canadian landscape painting.