The circumstances of his drowning on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, linked with his image as a master canoeist, led to unsubstantiated but persistent rumours that he had been murdered or committed suicide.Īlthough he died before the formal establishment of the Group of Seven, Thomson is often considered an unofficial member. Thomson developed a reputation during his lifetime as a veritable outdoorsman, talented in both fishing and canoeing, although his skills in the latter have been contested. His later work has had a great influence on Canadian art-paintings such as The Jack Pine and The West Wind have taken a prominent place in the culture of Canada and are some of the country's most iconic works. His later paintings vary in composition and contain vivid colours and thickly applied paint. His earliest paintings were not outstanding technically, but showed a good grasp of composition and colour handling. He became enraptured with the area and repeatedly returned, typically spending his winters in Toronto and the rest of the year in the Park. It was there that he acquired his first sketching equipment and, following MacDonald's advice, began to capture nature scenes. In May 1912, he visited Algonquin Park-a major public park and forest reservation in Central Ontario-for the first time. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Frederick Varley, Franklin Carmichael and Arthur Lismer. There he met those who eventually formed the Group of Seven, including J. At the turn of the 20th century, he was employed in Seattle and Toronto as a pen artist at several different photoengraving firms, including Grip Ltd. He worked several jobs before attending a business college, eventually developing skills in penmanship and copperplate writing. Raised in rural Ontario, Thomson was born into a large family of farmers and displayed no immediate artistic talent. Thomson's accidental death by drowning at 39 shortly before the founding of the Group of Seven is seen as a tragedy for Canadian art. He used broad brush strokes and a liberal application of paint to capture the beauty and colour of the Ontario landscape. His works consist almost entirely of landscapes, depicting trees, skies, lakes, and rivers. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877 – July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Black Spruce and Maple, Fall 1915.
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