Introducing Tom Thomson And The Group Of Seven
In October, the fine art imprint Philip Wilson released the book “Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven” in conjunction with the Painting Canada exhibition held at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
You may also read: The I.B.Tauris 2016 Review – Part One
The exhibition focused on Tom Thomson, an early 20th-century Canadian artist. He shaped an artistic language capturing the unique qualities of the Canadian landscape, once considered too wild for ‘true’ art.
His work depicted a dazzling and seasonally dynamic landscape. Thomson’s untimely death led to a memorial exhibition, and his friends formed the iconic Group of Seven in Canadian art history.
This influential group comprised Lawren Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael, and A.Y. Jackson. They left a lasting impact on the perception and representation of Canadian art.
Below is an assortment of paintings that were on show in the exhibition, and are featured in the book.
Painting Canada showcases more than 120 color reproductions of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven’s artwork and presents essays by Anna Hudson, Katerina Atanassova, Nils Ohlsen, and Marietta Jansen.
These essays provide a new European perspective on these Canadian artists, exploring how their work connects with Scandinavian and European expressionism.
Additionally, the book includes Wyndham Lewis’ essay ‘Canadian Nature and its Painters,’ originally published in The Listener in 1946.
