Franklin Carmichael
Franklin Carmichael
1890 - 1945
CSPWC G7 OSA RCA
Franklin Carmichael moved to Toronto in 1911, from his hometown in Orillia, Ontario, to study at the Central Technical School and the Ontario College of Art. He traveled to Antwerp to study painting in 1913, but returned to Ontario in 1914.

Carmichael worked at the commercial art firm Grip Ltd., where he met Tom Thomson and Group of Seven artists Arthur Lismer and J.E.H. MacDonald. After moving to the commercial art firm Rous & Mann Ltd., where he became head designer, Carmichael met A.J. Casson. Carmichael became a member of the Group of Seven, sharing their passion for painting the raw beauty of the Canadian landscape. In 1925 he moved to the commercial design firm of Sampson Matthews Limited. Casson also worked there, and they took sketching trips together.

Carmichael frequently visited regions in Ontario such as Georgian Bay and the North Shore of Lake Superior to paint. He would make three trips to Lake Superior – in 1925, 1926 and 1928. For two decades, following his first sight of it in 1924, Carmichael sketched extensively in the La Cloche Hills of Ontario’s Killarney Provincial Park. He acquired land there and by 1935, completed the building of a cabin at Cranberry Lake.

Carmichael was a fine watercolourist, and together with Casson and Fred Brigden, founded the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour in 1925 to promote the significance of this medium. He was also a founding member of the Ontario Society of Artists in 1933, and served as its president from 1937 to 1940. Elected an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1935, he became a full member in 1938.

In 1932, Carmichael became Head of Graphic and Commercial Art at the Ontario College of Art, where he taught until his death in 1945.
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Leaf Pattern by Franklin Carmichael sold for $2,281,250
Franklin Carmichael
Leaf Pattern
40 1/8 x 48 1/4 in, 101.9 x 122.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $700,000 - $900,000 CDN
Sold for: $2,281,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art on Thursday, May 22, 2025
Late Evening by Franklin Carmichael sold for $472,000
Franklin Carmichael
Late Evening
24 x 31 in, 61 x 78.7 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $400,000 - $600,000 CDN
Sold for: $472,000 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2016 - 4th Session on Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Autumn Woods by Franklin Carmichael sold for $368,000
Franklin Carmichael
Autumn Woods
12 x 9 3/4 in, 30.5 x 24.8 cm
circa 1925
oil on board
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000 CDN
Sold for: $368,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Wild Cherry Blossom by Franklin Carmichael sold for $322,000
Franklin Carmichael
Wild Cherry Blossom
10 x 12 in, 25.4 x 30.5 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000 CDN
Sold for: $322,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2005 on Thursday, November 24, 2005
Sketch 6 (Tree Stump) by Franklin Carmichael sold for $310,500
Franklin Carmichael
Sketch 6 (Tree Stump)
10 x 12 in, 25.4 x 30.5 cm
oil on beaver board
Estimate: $90,000 - $120,000 CDN
Sold for: $310,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2006 on Thursday, May 25, 2006
Port Coldwell Bay, North Shore, Lake Superior by Franklin Carmichael sold for $264,500
Franklin Carmichael
Port Coldwell Bay, North Shore, Lake Superior
17 1/4 x 21 1/4 in, 43.8 x 54 cm
watercolour on paper
Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000 CDN
Sold for: $264,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2005 on Wednesday, May 25, 2005
The Bay of Islands by Franklin Carmichael sold for $218,500
Franklin Carmichael
The Bay of Islands
11 x 13 in, 27.9 x 33 cm
watercolour on paper
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CDN
Sold for: $218,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2008 on Thursday, May 22, 2008
La Cloche Hills by Franklin Carmichael sold for $217,250
Franklin Carmichael
La Cloche Hills
11 1/4 x 13 3/8 in, 28.6 x 34 cm
watercolour on paper
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CDN
Sold for: $217,250 CDN (premium included)
Works by the Group of Seven & their Contemporaries on Thursday, October 28, 2021
Lansing, Ontario by Franklin Carmichael sold for $184,000
Franklin Carmichael
Lansing, Ontario
9 5/8 x 12 in, 24.4 x 30.5 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000 CDN
Sold for: $184,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Port Coldwell by Franklin Carmichael sold for $163,800
Franklin Carmichael
Port Coldwell
10 x 12 in, 25.4 x 30.5 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000 CDN
Sold for: $163,800 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2010 - 2nd Session on Thursday, November 25, 2010