The Interpreter And Guide

 We begin today with Moonlight, by Tom Thomson, done circa 1913-14.

Here is another set of his field sketches.

Untitled (Camp Scene) is a multimedia work on felt by Inuk artist Helen Konek, done before 1994.

Thomson and the Group of Seven were hugely influential on Canadian art. Thomson was fated to die young by drowning, otherwise it would have been the Group of Eight.

Here we have a number of works by indigenous artists at the heart of this room.

A wall of works by Thomson. The quote by A.Y. Jackson of the Group speaks to his influence on them. He was their guide and interpreter, opening their eyes to the wonders of the Canadian landscape.

This is one of his masterpieces. Thomson painted The Jack Pine over the winter of 1916-17.

Two more works by Thomson. At left is MacCallum's Island, a 1914 work. At right is The Breaking Of The Ice, done circa 1916.

And another by Thomson. Burnt Land dates to 1915.

F.H. Varley, another member of the Group of Seven, went to war as a war artist in the First World War. This is his Self Portrait, dated 1918.