Canadian [1909-2001]
Ontario Society of Artists, Royal Canadian Academy
Arbuckle studied at the Ontario College of Art under J.W. Beatty and J.E.H. MacDonald. He attended summer classes at Franz Johnston’s Georgian Bay art school. During the war, he turned his hand to commercial work and became an extremely successful illustrator. He worked for Bomac Engravers for several years at Ottawa and Montreal but he returned to free lance work in 1944. His special knowledge of historical subjects contributed greatly to his stature as an illustrator. Much of this knowledge was obtained from a friend and teacher, C. W. Jeffreys. His fine art painting encompassed both realism and impressionism.
His MacLean’s cover paintings of people, reveal his sensitivity to facial expressions striking a happy medium between caricature and realism. One of his particularly successful illustrations for MacLean’s magazine covered two pages used for Joseph Schull’s “William Lawrence and his wonderful windjammer.” This large illustration of a ship was reproduced in Canadian Art magazine in connection with the 7th Annual Exhibition of Advertising and Editorial Art; other works by him also appeared in that issue. Two of his larger projects have been written about in Weekend magazine. He has won the Jessie Dow award twice and is regarded as one of the more prominent illustrators in Canada.
His love of outdoor painting was rarely satisfied due to his numerous commitments of other types of art work. His more important commissions include: a mural 32 ft., 10 inches by 17 ft. for the City Hall at Hamilton, Ontario; mural for the Sawinigan Water and Power Company, Quebec; the design for tapestries 30 ft. by 19 ft. each, for the Royal Bank of Canada Building on King Street, Toronto. The tapestries were woven at Aubusson, France. Barbara Moon’s article in MacLean’s magazine in 1959 covered many aspects of his life and that of his artist wife Frances-Anne Johnston, daughter of founding Group of Seven member Frank Johnston.
Franklin Arbuckle is represented in the International Business Machines Collection of Contemporary Art, the Seagram Collection of Paintings and the R.C.A. Diploma Collection in the National Gallery of Canada. He is also represented in other leading galleries in North America and Europe. He taught at the Ontario College of Art and continued his career as a free lance artist. He was a member of the Ontario Society of Artists and the Canadian Society of Book Illustrators. He became an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1936, and a full member in 1945. He served as president of the RCA from 1960 to 1964.
Source: “A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F”, compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977
QUEBEC FARMHOUSE WITH HORSE AND SLEIGH
oil on board
12 x 16 in.
Sold for $ 1,600 (hammer price) – May 2013
GOOSEBERRY, NFLD; 1982
oil on Masonite
12 x 16 in.
Sold for $ 1,500 (hammer price) – November 2016
MINAS BASIN, BLOMIDON, N.S.; 1980
oil on Masonite
12 x 16 in.
Sold for $ 900 (hammer price) – November 2016
HILTON, ONT; 1985
oil on Masonite
12 x 16 in.
Sold for $ 600 (hammer price) – November 2014
We are always seeking works by George Franklin Arbuckle to be included in future auctions.
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Artist: George Franklin Arbuckle
Title: QUEBEC FARMHOUSE WITH HORSE AND SLEIGH
Medium: oil on board
Dimensions: 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm)
Notes:
signed
LOT: 284
Auction: 2013 May | Hodgins Art Auctions
Artist: George Franklin Arbuckle
Title: HILTON, ONT
Date: 1985
Medium: oil on masonite
Dimensions: 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm)
Notes:
signed, titled & dated
LOT: 223
Auction: 2014 November | Hodgins Art Auctions
Artist: George Franklin Arbuckle
Title: LAKE LOUISE
Medium: colour serigraph on paper
Dimensions: 24 x 30 in. (61 x 76.2 cm)
Notes:
signed in the screen
LOT: 1096
Auction: 2015 February | Hodgins Art Auctions
Artist: George Franklin Arbuckle
Title: QUEBEC TOWNSHIP, WINTER
Medium: oil on card
Dimensions: 4.5 x 6.75 in. (11.4 x 17.1 cm)
Notes:
signed
LOT: 9
Auction: 2016 September | Hodgins Art Auctions
Artist: George Franklin Arbuckle
Title: GOOSEBERRY, NFLD
Date: 1982
Medium: oil on masonite
Dimensions: 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm)
Notes:
signed, titled & dated
LOT: 85
Auction: 2016 November | Hodgins Art Auctions
Artist: George Franklin Arbuckle
Title: MINAS BASIN, BLOMIDON, N.S.
Date: 1980
Medium: oil on masonite
Dimensions: 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm)
Notes:
signed, titled & dated
LOT: 87
Auction: 2016 November | Hodgins Art Auctions
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