Tuesday, July 26, 2016

The Group Of Seven And Emily

The last time I took you around the National Gallery, I made mention of the Group of Seven, the Canadian artists who exhibited together in the early twentieth century, forming after the death of their friend Tom Thomson in 1917. Thomson and the Group have numerous works displayed together, both small field canvases and large works.

This is Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay, by F.H. Varley, painted in 1921.


These are some of the field canvases from the members of the Group. They would take these small wooden surfaces out into the wild, painting quick sketches of scenes that they would bring back to the studios for the full work.


Arthur Lismer painted this in 1914. It is entitled Road Through The Bush.


These are two paintings by Tom Thomson. The top painting is The Silent Lake, done in 1913. The lower painting is Moonlight, painted at some point in 1913-14.


Spring Ice dates to 1916, and is another work by Thomson. 


And this one is another Thomson, one of his most famous paintings, The Jack Pine. It was painted at some point in 1916-17, and Thomson depicted a lake scene in eastern Algonquin Park, a place he spent much time in. Today there is an interpretive hiking trail to that very spot.


This is another Arthur Lismer oil painting, from 1921, titled, September Gale, Georgian Bay.


And this painting is by Lawren Harris, dated to 1924. It is titled Afternoon Sun, North Shore, Lake Superior. 


This last painting is by a contemporary of the Group, and a great artist in her own right. Emily Carr painted this in 1928, an oil painting entitled Heina. It reflects her personal interest in First Nations culture, particularly in British Columbia.

28 comments:

  1. Those wooden sketch pieces are a treasure trove, effectively looking over the artists' shoulders. And this is overall another wonderful selection of art. Emily Carr is well represented in Victoria but I haven't seen a lot of the Group of Seven's work. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice paintings. I haven't been to an art exhibition before.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Uma bela exposição com excelentes pinturas.
    Um abraço e boa semana.
    Andarilhar

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really like the Group of Seven. Nice to see their works here. And Emily too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another fine selection for us William, the last two more contemporary works are my favourite !

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Kay: there would be a lot of her work in BC.

    @Nancy: I love galleries, though I am not fond of modern art.

    @Francisco: thank you.

    @Halcyon: I love their styles.

    @Grace: thanks!

    @Tex: indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  7. i enjoy the blue background ones, they seems to stay our better on this views. cheerful or eye appealing. ( :

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think this is my favorite group so far. Thomson's Jack Pine steals my heart!

    Janis
    GDP

    ReplyDelete
  9. I plan on seeing the Lauren Harris exhibit soon at the AGO.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Some wonderful apintings again, William, it's a pity we can't see them in real live, because in fact that's the only way paintings can be seen really well. But still ... thanks for showing us around. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. During my school years, late 40's, early 50's the group of seven was featured in several textbooks. I'm glad it was as it gave me some art appreciation and I still like group of seven work.

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Beth: thanks!

    @Janis: it's a beautiful painting. Someday I'll have to go check out the site where he painted it from.

    @Jackie: have fun!

    @Jan: this is the second best way, seeing them remotely.

    @Norma: so do I.

    @Red: they had real talent.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Those last two are my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful art. I especially love your 5th, and last two photos!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I especially love that first shot (and a few similar ones) as it reminds me of some photos I took along the North Shore of Minnesota back in the late 80s. Gorgeous country!

    ReplyDelete
  16. They really were a very talented group!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Fine selection of paintings William. I went back and looked at them again and came to the conclusion that my favorite is all of them. Impressive group of painters!

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Karl: thanks!

    @Sharon: they stand out well.

    @Linda: thank you!

    @Lowell: it's some of the same topography, after all.

    @RedPat: that they were.

    @Marleen: I agree!

    @Bill: good choice!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Reminds me of a woman I passed on my bike yesterday at dawn. She had set up her easel in the pedestrian lane of a bridge and had begun to pain the river below. Hope she knew that there would be scads more cyclists behind me. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. It's difficult to choose a favorite between Spring Ice, Jack Pine, September Gale and the last one. Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love those Thomson paintings, as well as the Georgian Bay ones.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Nice paintings. I like the trees especially.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh I'm so glad I didn't miss seeing these!

    ReplyDelete
  24. @Revrunner: I've seen artists do that.

    @Mari: thank you.

    @Furry Gnome: so do I.

    @Linda: me too.

    @Cloudia: thanks!

    ReplyDelete