The Group of Seven

Anne Murray	Group of Seven

The Group of Seven

Around 1912 a loosely knit group of artists began to paint Canada as they saw it. Sketch boxes in tow, they journeyed all over the country to paint the wilderness with bold colours and a broad, decorative style.
Despite the death of mentor Tom Thomson in 1917, these painters banded together as the Group of Seven in 1920 to forge a new Canadian expres-sion. Their vision shaped how Canadians saw their own country and left a legacy that continues to provoke debate and discussion.

A new form of art began emerging in Canada in the early 1900s. It entailed a shedding of European traditions to produce art that was an honest por-trayal of Canada, unfettered by conventional painting methods.
The resulting works were glorious and bold, capturing the subject with a new perspective based more on feeling than simple transcription. Often the subjects of these works were natural settings – rivers, lakes, and streams.

Tom Thomson: Above Lake Superior

Tom Thomson: Ice Covered Lake

Painters in the Wilderness

At the forefront of this movement was a group of painters who began to notice a unity in their works. They included Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frederick H. Varley, Arthur Lismer, Frank Johnson, and Franklin Carmichael. Many of them worked at the same lithography office, while art exhibits and societies served to introduce the others. In Algonquin Park, a favourite site of the Group, Tom Thomson, a knowledgeable woodsman and canoeist, turned the eyes of the other artists to the Canadian wilderness.

Tom Thomson powerfully inspired the other artists. In the minds of many Canadians his paintings Northern Lake (1913), Northern River (1914-15), and Spring Ice (1916) still remain glorious symbols of this country.

Thomson died mysteriously in 1917, but his legacy lived on when, in 1920, his colleagues officially formed the Group of Seven. It served to cement friendships that had been alive for almost a decade, as well as providing a protective front against the criticism which the artists faced. It also enabled them to launch a vigorous campaign of support for the revolutionary works they were producing at the time.

At first the works of the Group of Seven were subjected to bitter denuncia-tion for the "decadent ideas" they were propagating, and which some columnists considered "an affront to common decency." Such criticism served to draw attention to the artists. Acceptance by the Canadian public was increasing and before long the works of members of the Group were considered expressions of the essence of Canada.

Tom Thomson

By the early 1930s, the Group had painted scenes of the country from coast to coast. Each artist maintained his own individual style; some of the painters also became associated with a particular area.

The Group's final exhibition was held in 1931. The Group disbanded fol-lowing the presentation - claiming that they had been replaced by a much bigger movement. A new group – the Canadian Group of Painters – was formed.

PAINTINGS GROUP OF SEVEN
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca

THE COLLECTION
http://www.mcmichael.com/collection/seven/index.cfm

GROUP OF SEVEN MOVEMENT
http://www.arthistoryguide.com/Group_of_Seven.aspx