ORILLIA MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY
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Happy Birthday Franklin Carmichael!
May 4, 2021 marked the 131st birthday of Orillia-born and founding member of the Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichael.
Carmichael is well known for his stunning paintings that captured the beauty and ruggedness of our unique Canadian landscapes. The Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) honours Carmichael annually with the Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed and the Carmichael Art History Lecture.
Orillia is where Carmichael was developed a passion for painting. His mother identified early on that he had artistic talent that should be nurtured. The Reverend Canon Greene at St. James Anglican Church was his first teacher.
As a teenager, Carmichael worked in his father's carriage making shop as a striper, decorating the carriages. This work honed his design, drawing, and colouring skills.
In 1911, at the age of 21, his love of painting led Carmichael to move to Toronto to grow his artistic talent, and as they say, the rest is history.
We know that Franklin Carmichael was a magnificent painter. If you want to learn more about the multi-faceted life and contributions of Orillia’s beloved son please click here and join OMAH History Committee member Janet Houston as she focuses on Carmichael’s tenure at Ontario College of Art from 1932 to 1945.
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