Doug received his formal training from Kwakwaka'wakw master carver, Mungo Martin, in the 1950s. Shortly after, Doug met Bill Reid and was invited to help him build the Haida Village at Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology. He helped carve five totem poles and the two large houses at the Museum. In 1962, Doug founded The Talking Stick Gallery with A. J. Scow and Dick Bird. In 1967, he was commissioned to carve two large totem poles for an air force base in Saabrucken, Germany. This same year, Canadian Pacific Railway purchased a 20-foot pole from Doug, and this pole was sent to Spain as a gift. These are just two of the many monumental and international projects that Doug completed. In 1970, he began teaching design and wood carving at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Art. Although he was perhaps best known for his skills as a carver, Doug Cranmer was also a prolific painter. Between 1974 and 1975, he created an innovative series of 48 paintings that pushed the boundaries of Northwest Coast design. In 1994, Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology produced an exhibition titled 'Doug Cranmer's Paintings'. Doug was a Hereditary Chief of the Namgis Nation. He passed away in November of 2006.