A Life in Art and Education
Franklin Brownell, also known as Franklin Peleg Brownell, was a landscape painter, draughtsman, and teacher active in Canada. Born in New Bedford, United States, he studied at the Boston Tufts School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1879 and later at the Académie Julian in Paris between 1880 and 1883. During his time in Paris, he studied under William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Tony Robert-Fleury, and Léon Bonnat.
His career in Ottawa spanned over fifty years. He served as the Headmaster of the Ottawa School of Art until 1900 and later held the same position with the Women's Art Association of Ottawa, which was later renamed the Art Association of Ottawa, between 1900 and 1937. His students included Pegi Nicol MacLeod, Henri Masson, and Robert Tait McKenzie.
Artistic Range and Recognition
Brownell's body of work included landscapes, portraits, flower studies, marine scenes, and genre scenes, which he executed in oil, watercolour, and pastel. His travels for painting included the West Indies, the Gaspé and Gatineau regions of Quebec, and Algonquin Provincial Park. While celebrated as an Impressionist, he also produced social realist depictions of the city.
His professional achievements and exhibitions included:
His works are held in collections such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Musée d’Orsay.
