Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson
Life & Work by David P. Silcox
Johnston, Frank (Canadian, 1888–1949)
A founding member of the Group of Seven. In 1921, he became principal of the
Winnipeg School of Art and later taught at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD
University). He formally severed his ties with the group in 1924, preferring to paint in a
realistic style less controversial at the time than his earlier decorative work.
Kane, Paul (Irish/Canadian, 1810–1871)
Influenced by George Catlin, this nineteenth-century painter and explorer spent
extensive time documenting Aboriginal peoples in North America and depicting, in a
traditional European style, scenes of their culture and landscapes. The Royal Ontario
Museum houses one hundred paintings and several hundred sketches by Kane. (See
Paul Kane: Life & Work by Arlene Gehmacher.)
Lismer, Arthur (British/Canadian, 1885–1969)
A landscape painter and founding member of the Group of Seven, Lismer immigrated to
Canada from England in 1911. He was also an influential educator of adults and
children, and he created children’s art schools at both the Art Gallery of Ontario (1933)
and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (1946).
MacCallum, James (Canadian, 1860–1943)
An ophthalmologist in Toronto, Dr.MacCallum was a friend and patron of Tom Thomson
and the Group of Seven. With Lawren Harris, in 1913 he planned and financed the
Studio Building in Toronto as a place where artists could live and work. In 1914, by
offering to support A.Y. Jackson and Tom Thomson for a year, he launched their
careers as full-time painters. He bequeathed his collection to the National Gallery of
Canada, Ottawa.
MacDonald, J.E.H. (British/Canadian, 1873–1932)
A painter, printmaker, calligrapher, teacher, poet, and designer, and a founding member
of the Group of Seven. His sensitive treatment of the Canadian landscape was
influenced by Walt Whitman’s poetry and Henry David Thoreau’s views on nature.
Matisse, Henri (French, 1869–1954)
A painter, sculptor, printmaker, draftsman, and designer, aligned at different times with
the Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and Fauvists. By the 1920s he was, with Pablo
Picasso, one of the most famous painters of his generation, known for his remarkable
use of colour and line.
Milne, David (Canadian, 1881–1953)
A painter, printmaker, and illustrator whose work—principally landscapes—displays the
tonal brilliance and concern with process of his Impressionist and Post-Impressionist
influences. Milne lived in New York early in his career, where he trained at the Art
Students League and participated in the Armory Show in 1913.
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