Digital Art Gallery

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Group of Seven
Painters J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Franklin Carmichael, F.H. Varley and Frank Johnston formed this landscape inspired "school" of Canadian art.

Franklin H. Carmichael (1890-1945, original member) was the youngest member of the Group of Seven. He was an accomplished watercolour painter, and heavily influenced by the other Group members' styles. Many of his paintings were of small towns in Ontario and often his rendition of clouds would be very striking.

 

A. J. Casson (1898-1992) was a late comer to the Group, and although he shared some similar subjects of the Group, he maintained his own interests and primarily painted rural scenes of Southern Ontario.

 

L. L. FitzGerald (1890-1956) was invited to become a Member in 1932. In 1921, he was honoured by putting on a one-man show at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. After that success, he studied in New York, and returned to Winnipeg in 1922.

Lawren Harris (1885-1970) has become perhaps the best known Canadian Artist. His works are well known Internationally and very collectible.

Edwin Holgate (1892-1977) is quickly becoming one of the most popular Canadian Artists. His "Great Bug Pond" sold for a record $121,000 at the Heffel Fall Auction, 1999.

A. Y. Jackson (1882-1974) travelled extensively across Canada, and painted many of the country's regions.

Frank Johnston (1888-1949) was an original Member and only showed in the Group's first exhibit

Arthur Lismer (1885-1969) painted at Algonquin Park, and on a visit to Canoe Lake in 1914, brought his wife and baby daughter. He painted with Varley at Georgian Bay in 1920 (the year the Group formed) and showed his talents as a designer in the painting titled September Gale. As with many of the Group, he often used pencil or oil sketches in the field, and then painted back in the studio.

James Edward Hervey (J.E.H.) MacDonald (1873 -1932) died in the last year of the Group of Seven. Often, his landscapes would be quite abstract, such as the small painting titled: Lake Simcoe. Like many of the other Group members, MacDonald also loved to capture the energy of a storm in his paintings.

Frederick H. Varley (1881-1969) was born in Sheffield, England and moved to Canada in 1912. With the onset of the First World War, like other members of the Group of Seven, Varley enlisted. On February 7, 1918, he was given the honorary rank of captain and in late March he left for England. While working as an artist for the Canadian War Records Department Varley crossed the Channel to France and witnessed combat on the front lines. Following the war, Varley returned to Toronto where he illustrated books, taught, and continued to paint.

   

Tom Thomson (1877-1917) died at one of the places he loved most, Canoe Lake. His death occurred under "suspicious" circumstances. Although he died before the Group formally formed, he is almost always included as a member of the Group of Seven. His "Nocturne" set a Canadian Art Auction record in 1998 at the Heffel Auction in Vancouver.

 

Digital Art Gallery