Submitted by the staff of the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH)
Franklin Carmichael was born in Orillia on May 4, 1890. He would go on to become a founding member of the Group of Seven, Canada’s influential landscape painting collective.
Within this group shot is the only photograph of Franklin Carmichael as a young man that OMAH has in its collection. He is standing in the second row from the front, three in from the right with his arms behind his back (close up included).
Carmichael attended St. James’ Anglican Church at the corner of Coldwater Road and Peter Street North, which is where he received some of his earliest art education under the tutelage of Reverend Canon Greene.
Greene was the incumbent at St. James from 1888 to 1911. He was also a respected artist, who created the Orillia Sketch Club in 1907, and taught landscape painting. With this foundation, Carmichael would go on to pursue a career in the arts, eventually joining six other landscape painters in 1920 to form the Group of Seven.
OMAH is fortunate to have a selection of works and objects from Franklin Carmichael thanks to generous donations from our museum community and Carmichael’s descendants, the Mastin family. Among these items, is the easel Carmichael worked on in his studio, which will be on display at OMAH from Sept. 23 to Jan. 6, 2024 in a small exhibition about Carmichael’s life, entitled “A Collection-Inspired Exhibition: A Close-Up on Carmichael.”
OMAH is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and until 7p.m. on Thursdays.
Next week we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.
