Franck Albert Jacques

Albert Jacques Franck (1899-1973)

Born in Middelburg, Holland, He emigrated to Canada in 1926, where he started painting and did street scenes. In late the late 1920’s he worked in the fine art department of Simpson’s store in Toronto. In 1940 he established himself in the picture restoring business and made his living as a painter under the title of ‘’Picture Restorer’’. In 1947 he begun solo shows first at Simpson’s and Eaton’s and many other galleries. His subjects were old houses, usually in Toronto. With his camera he took many pictures, choosing the best for his sketch (slightly different from the actual photograph), from which he then made the larger finished painting (altered again from the sketch). He worked in all painting media. His shows were usually a sellout an there was a waiting list for his paintings. He is represented in many collections in Canada and abroad.

                                     Sources: A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Colin S. Macdonald, Vol 1.