With his father's support, and insistence, he began by studying architecture at the Frankfurt Business College. When his father died, he decided to pursue his true artistic interests. Accordingly, at the age of seventeen, he enrolled at the
Städelschule, where he studied with
Heinrich Hasselhorst and
Eduard Jakob von Steinle. He focused on landscapes but, under Steinle's direction, also created illustrations for fairy tales. In 1879, he moved to
Kronberg im Taunus, where he joined the local artists' colony. While there, he befriended
Anton Burger and took lessons with him until 1881. Franck, however, had his own strong opinions on the depiction of nature and went to the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he had been recommended to
Jakob Fürchtegott Dielmann. He was there until 1886. He then began to travel, eventually settling in
Würzburg. After finding little success there, he moved to Berlin in 1892 and became a teacher at the Royal Art School. In 1898, he was awarded the title of Professor. That same year, he joined with
Lovis Corinth and
Max Liebermann to help create the
Berlin Secession. In 1902, his first wife died and, two years later, he married one of his students. In 1906, Franck and his family moved to
Halensee on the
Wannsee, where he attempted to establish an artists' colony modeled on the one in Kronberg, but was unsuccessful. He returned to Berlin and became Director of the
Royal Art School in 1915. In 1928, he participated in the International Exhibition at the
Carnegie Institute. His book of reminiscences,
Ein Leben für die Kunst (A Life for Art), was published shortly after his death. ==Family==