Franklin Carmichael

Franklin Carmichael, the youngest member of the Group of Seven, was born in Orillia, Ontario. His roots in Northern Ontario drew him repeatedly to the rugged majesty of the landscape, making him one of the most sensitive interpreters of the Canadian wilderness. From the brilliant autumn colours of Algoma and Georgian Bay to his iconic depictions of the La Cloche Mountains near Sudbury, Carmichael established himself as a master of oil and watercolour. His luminous skies and dramatic vistas remain among the most celebrated contributions to Canadian art, highly prized by collectors for their rarity and clarity.

Guided early on by his relative, the Canadian artist Fred Haines, Carmichael studied at the Ontario College of Art under William Cruikshank and George Reid before continuing his training at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp. Returning to Canada at the outbreak of the First World War, he worked at Grip Ltd. alongside fellow future Group members and briefly shared a studio at the Studio Building with Tom Thomson. The formative sketching trips laid the foundation for a national visual identity. Later, as Head of Graphic and Commercial Art at the Ontario College of Art, Carmichael influenced a generation of artists while pursuing his own practice. Today, his works are held in major museums and private collections across the country and remain in strong demand for their rarity, refinement, and enduring cultural significance.