The Group of Seven Boxed Notecard Assortment

Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven shared a passion for Canada’s landscape and a strong desire to create a distinctive visual language. Their goal was to explore the country and paint it. As they traveled north, they found inspiration for the imagery that would imprint itself on the Canadian consciousness: depictions of the rugged, windswept forest panoramas of the Canadian Shield and the vast expanse of lakes and sky. Through their spectacular canvases and adventurous spirits, these celebrated artists have shaped Canadian art and identity. Presented here are five each of four landscapes from Group of Seven painters.

Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson (Canadian, 1877–1917) loved the rough country of northern Ontario. An avid outdoorsman and backcountry guide, he had a brief but brilliant art career profoundly influenced by the Canadian landscape. After a slow beginning as an artist, he found his stride and created hundreds of sketches recording his impressions of the wilderness in small oils remarkable for their vivid color and bold brushwork. Many of Thomson’s paintings were executed in only a few hours but are nonetheless emblematic of Canadian art. Thomson would not live to see the birth of the Group of Seven, yet despite his untimely death in 1917, his name became synonymous with the Group, and together their works have come to symbolize a distinctly Canadian identity.