Canadian Pride

The Group of Seven

Among Canada’s Most Famous Artists

Who: The Group of Seven consisted of Lawren Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael and A.Y. Jackson. All but Harris began as commercial artists, several of them working at the same company in Toronto. Tom Thomson was never officially part of the Group, as he died tragically – and mysteriously – in the wilderness three years before the Group came together.

What: A group of artists who painted and exhibited together, the Group of Seven was influenced by nineteenth century Impressionism but rebelled against “the imitative quality of Canadian art.” (thecanadianencylopedia.com). The Group became known as a landscape school and the members caused controversy by boasting themselves to be Canada’s School of Painters.

When: The first exhibition was held in May, 1920, and the final showing was in 1931. The group disbanded and a new association, the Canadian Group of Painters, was formed in 1933.

Where: The Group’s first exhibition was at the National Gallery of Toronto. The members focused a great deal on painting in Northern Ontario, but also painted landscapes in Quebec and on the East and West Coasts. The members of the Group of Seven were also the first artists of European descent to paint the Arctic landscape.

Why: The Group of Seven, guided by spirituality, was obsessed with portraying the Canadian landscape as rugged, dramatic and transcendent. During this nationalistic era, the artists were intent on creating a purely and distinctively Canadian style. They succeeded, and have influenced Canadian artists for almost a century.