July 8 witnessed the 100th anniversary of the untimely death under mysterious circumstances of one of the most influential figures in Canadian art of the 20th (or arguably any) Century. In his short productive life, Thomas John Thomson could be said to have laid the very foundations of the school of art known as the Group of Seven, even though that group had not yet formed by the time of his death.
Up until the work of Mr. Thomson and his contemporaries, the rugged Canadian landscape was depicted in the classic style of the English countryside popular at the time, a form well suited to the long settled lands of the British countryside, but totally unsuitable—may we even suggest dishonest—when rendering the rough hewn reality of the vast majority of the still raw Canadian frontier.
Mr. Thomson and the Group of Seven, many of whom Mr. Thomson worked and studied with at various illustration companies of the day, were not immediately recognized as for the giants of innovation and creativity they were. In fact, the raw unbridled passion depicted in their works horrified the Toronto and Montreal gentry when first presented to the Canadian art world intelligencia of the day. No prophet is celebrated in his home town.
But once those works began to appear in London and other European art capitals, where they were immediately lauded and celebrated for their fresh and honest depictions of the Canadian wilderness, the folks back home were quick to jump on the bandwagon.
His mysterious death allegedly from drowning while on a canoe trip on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, and after death controversies that include tales of an unwed pregnancy and an alleged sand-filled casket conspiracy theory, overshadow the genius of Tom Thomson and are in many ways truly unfortunate in impact. For they tend to mask and detract from the power of his work and the role it played in defining the way we, and the rest of the world, came to view ourselves. Not as pale imitations of the Old World and Empire, where so many Canadians of the day traced back their lineage (and for many even their birthplace), but as denizens of a brave new world whose force was truly something to be reckoned with.
Tom Thomson deserves to be remembered and celebrated as a true giant, a figure worthy to stride upon the global stage with other giants with names like Van Gogh and Cézanne whose influences can be seen within the brash brushstrokes and immense colour control of his most recognizable works.
In this, the 150th anniversary of Canada’s foundation as a country in its own right, we should take the opportunity to explore the work of Mr. Thomson and his contemporaries, the Group of Seven and the so-called Indian Group of Seven, as well as the host of other artists who have explored the soul of this country through their creativity. There is much to celebrate and explore that can bring us all closer together in our shared heritages.
