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Canadian artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albert Jacques Franck (2 April 1899 – 28 February 1973) was a Canadian artist. He is known for his realistic paintings[1] of Toronto winter scenes,[2] dilapidated neighbourhoods[3][4] and back lanes.[5][6][7] His detailed paintings provide a historical record of conditions in some of Toronto's once less affluent neighbourhoods.[8][9]
Albert Franck | |
---|---|
Born | Albert Jacques Franck April 2, 1899 |
Died | February 28, 1973 73) | (aged
Nationality | Dutch-born Canadian |
Education | self-trained |
Spouse | Florence Vale |
Franck was born at Middelburg, the Netherlands.[10] As a young man he was a champion swimmer.[11] He moved to Canada in 1926, making his living as a swimming instructor and by working in factories[5] He later worked in an art gallery and sold picture frames.[12]
Franck opened a studio in his small home on Gerrard Street in Toronto. He began by hanging some of his paintings in a local restaurant,[5] and in this way his work became locally known. In the 1950s he and his wife, artist Florence Vale,[13] developed the studio into a gathering place for the arts community. They hosted and supported the work of many young local artists,[5][14][15] particularly those participating in the emerging Toronto abstract art scene, including Joyce Wieland[16] and Kazuo Nakamura.[17] Franck and Vale later moved to a larger home, which also served as their studio and gallery, on Hazelton Street[18] as part of a general migration of the art community to the Yorkville area during the 1960s.[19]
Franck's first exhibition was presented at York University in 1963.[20] In 1973, he held an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Franck also participated in a number of group exhibitions.
Franck's paintings are in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario,[21] the Museum London,[22] the National Exhibition Centre in St. Catharines,[23] the New Brunswick Museum,[24] and McMaster University Art Gallery.[25]
He was an Associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy (1961-1970), and a member of the Ontario Society of Artists (1958), the Canadian Society of Watercolour Painters, and the Canadian Society of Graphic Artists.[26]
Fellow artist Harold Town, a close friend,[27] wrote two books celebrating Franck's art.[28][29]
Franck also taught art in a local high school[30] and played the cello.[31] He and his wife sent small pieces of their art as greeting cards to friends and relatives, and some of these have survived.[32]
Franck died in Toronto on February 28, 1973.[6] A street in the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood of Toronto is named for him.[33]
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