Back of Foxley Avenue

Collection of Florence Vale Franck, Toronto. Lynnwood Arts Centre, Simcoe. Gadatsy Gallery, Port Dover. Private Collection, Ontario.

Constance Mungall, “A Franck Look at Toronto”, “The Star Weekly”, Toronto, January 16, 1965, pages 9-13. Nancy McVean, “Muted Miracles of Later Winter”, “Globe and Mail”, Toronto, March 21, 1987, page D5. Robert Fulford and Harold Town, “The Vanishing City, An Exhibition of Paintings by Albert Jacques Franck”, York University, March 9-10, 1963, exhibition pamphlet.

“Albert J. Franck (1899-1973): Works from the Estate of the Artist”, Lynnwood Arts Centre, Simcoe, January 11-March 2, 1997.

Albert Jacques Franck is known for scenes of Victorian and early twentieth century houses in downtown Toronto. He painstakingly photographed and recorded Toronto while it underwent a massive urban renewal project, so that he could paint the old homes later with loving nostalgia. These paintings were never direct copies of the photographs, however, he used them merely as a starting point. Like a portraitist, he revealed the house’s character by intentionally avoiding the literal. He “helped to give all these places a special existence in our minds”. After moving to Ontario, he travelled to New York, Quebec and Amsterdam to sketch, but his heart and his paintbrush remained loyal to the dignified old houses in Toronto. He dutifully prepared his own varnish and masonite panels, as he did with “Back of Foxley Avenue”. This painting demonstrates Franck’s perfectionism in his work and his unwavering commitment to showing Torontonians the beauty of their own backyards. “Back of Foxley Avenue” (1968) was affectionately gifted to his wife, Florence Vale, as is inscribed au verso “With Love to Flory” on the artist’s label. Franck’s relationship with his wife was deeply supportive and, as a fellow artist, she was genuinely proud of his eventual success. Franck was a man with few close friends, making Florence very much an important part of his world. Florence later donated the painting to Lynnwood Art Centre and it has been in a private collection since 1997.