Bonne Fête Canada! Happy Canada Day!
Franklin Arbuckle, RCA (1909 – 2001) was a Canadian illustrator, painter and educator who contributed more than 100 covers and many illustrations to Maclean's magazine in a 60-year career.
Born in Toronto, he attended the Ontario College of Art, studying with J.W. Beatty, J.E.H. MacDonald, and C.W. Jefferys. As a student, he was one of the illustrators for the Student Annual published at the college along with teachers such as Carl Schaefer.
When he graduated he taught at Northern Vocational School in Toronto, took classes and taught in a summer art school run by Franz Johnston, and worked as a commercial artist. During the Second World War, he became an illustrator. He worked for Bomac Engravers in Toronto, an engraving company with offices in Ottawa and Montreal which moved Arbuckle and his family to Montréal. During these years, he exhibited his paintings at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts from 1932 to 1966, in a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto (later the Art Gallery of Ontario) in 1940 and a group exhibition in 1941, and in the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts from 1946 to 1967.
He did his first cover for Maclean's magazine in 1944. Directed by the magazine editors, Arbuckle went cross-country by Canadian Pacific Railway and did paintings for covers and illustrations of different subjects. His total production numbered over 100 covers as well as illustrations for many articles.
The Arbuckle family returned to Toronto in 1958 and Arbuckle taught at the Ontario College of Art till 1989. During this time, he illustrated a number of books on historical themes including "Great Canadians" and "They Shared to Survive, The Native People of Canada" as well as illustrating historical themes for major Canadian corporations such as Seagram's (today this collection is in the McCord Museum, Montréal and the Pulp and Pape Industry of Canada.
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Franklin Arbuckle or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Franklin Arbuckle |
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| Lake Louise, 1940 |
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| Moraine Lake, Canadian Rockies, 1940-45 |
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| Arriving at the Station, 1940's |
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| Grist Mill, Baie St. Paul, 1940's |
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| The Spring Fur Brigade Leaves Lachine, 1946 |
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| Shipping Paper, 1947 |
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| The Penalty Bench, 1949 |
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| Farmstead, Near Baie St Paul, Qué, 1950 |
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| Down by the Sea, 1950 |
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| The Filly, 1950 |
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| Totem Pole, Vancouver Island, 1950 |
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| American Social Life, 1950 |
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| The Penalty, 1951 |
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| Victoria Inner Harbour, 1951 |
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| Reading the Funnies on a Horse-Drawn Wagon, 1952 |
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| Karsh Photographing Santa, 1954 |
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| Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent Vacationing in a Hammock, 1955 |
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| Lady in the Attic, 1955 |
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| Moving the Town, 1956 |
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| Sign Here, 1959 |
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| Park Scene, West Indies, 1960's |
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| Mansonville, Qué, 1961 |
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| The World's First True Bush Aircraft, The "Norseman" 1961 |
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| Peggy's Cove, N.S., The Inner Harbour, 1978 |
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| A Quiet Summer Stream, 1980 |
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| Ile d'Orléans, 1980 |
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| Port Maitland, N.S. 1981 |
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| Gooseberry, NFLD, 1982 |
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| De Salvos Mill, 1985 |
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