Random Canadian factoid 7 - The group of seven.

Picture: Algonquin park image, by Tom Thomson.

Ok. So this is a post for Cressman, who has agreed to do me a 3 figure Cressman original (is that 3 figures Canadian Dave?!) and also f0r Kim.

For the eagle eyed amongst you, who may have noticed (but probably didnt!) that there was never a 7th random factoid, there was a reason for this, and this was the reason. I never actually got round to posting about the Group of Seven, so here goes. Cressman was looking in need of inspiration this morning, so this is for him.

In 1920, J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Franklin Carmichael, F.H. Varley and Frank Johnston officially formed this now famous group. These were painters bitten by the Canadian north who, for the first time, took on the task of painting the great power, scenery and spirit of their land.

This truly Canadian art movement was started, not by professional painters, but by a loose association of acquaintances who travelled north from Toronto on their vacations to paint and relax. The modern Canadian so-called "school", was inspired as the result of a direct contact with nature itself.

Before 1910, a Canadian art movement, inspired by the Canadian landscape, was not considered possible.

The public and artists themselves preferred the softer, mistier and tamer landscapes of the old world. Most Canadian artists studied abroad and continued their work here, usually after the manner of the Barbizon and Dutch schools. They painted scenes of cows and trees in the best academic tradition with lots of detail and dark brown colouring. Horatio Walker and Homer Watson both painted in this style, often referred to as the "cow school". 'In Europe, tradition'- that powerful despot- seemed to mould or curb artistic expression, at least for a time.

As an "outpost" of culture, Canadians followed the rules of the European art world. Canadian art authorities did not believe that our rough landscape was fit subject matter for art. "It's bad enough to live in this country," an old lady once told A.Y. Jackson, "without having pictures of it in your home." This, and the attitude that pine trees were unpaintable, slowly began to change.

Since Canadian confederation in 1867, we were involved in an era of re-evaluation in art, science, religion and life itself. This evaluation was slow, but necessary to develop a "concept of self" for this young nation.

Members of the Group of Seven consciously expressed this nationalistic philosophy in their paintings and many written articles. Arthur Lismer once stated that "It is necessary that as Canadians we should believe we are capable of producing great art as we believe we are capable of doing great deeds."

The men who would later form the Group of Seven, with the exception of Harris and Jackson, were employed in Toronto as commercial artists at Grip Ltd. Tom Thomson, a co-worker and friend of these men, was also employed there.

Thomson was not an official member of the Group as he died in Algonquin Park two and a half years before it formed. However, he was influenced by and in turn had influence upon his contemporaries, and became perhaps more famous than the group itself.

The group paved the way for Canadian artists to develop a unique style of recording the many incredible views of the country in which they lived.