Page 32 - Dreamscapes Magazine | Winter 2021-2022

CELEBRATING
THE GROUP OF SEVEN
”As the sun rises, light shimmers off the snow- covered and seemingly endless horizon, with nary a snowflake in sight. In the foreground, the weight of the snow is felt on the delicate branches of jack pine trees, as though the white dusting has been there for days.
stroke at a time. It is pure, unadulterated Canadiana.
THE GROUP OF SEVEN
Lawren S. Harris shared the love of the country’s natural environment with other like-minded nature lover artists, rubbing shoulders with J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick H. Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael and A.Y. Jackson, who collectively became known as the Group of Seven. Like Britain’s Fab Four (The Beatles), Canada’s Group of Seven became trailblazers
By Mandy Sinclair
dmiring Canadian artist Lawren S. Harris’ Winter (1914) trans- ports me to those wintry days when the heaviness of the season is sensed on the icy landscape, and a certain early- morning frigidness that only mid-winter mornings bring is felt—even before step- ping outside. At the same time, the poetic picture is a reminder of Canada’s natural beauty throughout the seasons. There’s a sense of familiarity too in this earthly scene that has us trek, albeit virtually, into the remote corners of Canada, one brush-
ABOVE: Visitors who go to the National Gallery of Canada located in Ottawa can view an extraordinary Group of Seven collection. National Gallery of Canada OPPOSITE CENTRE: The glassy facade of the National Gallery of Canada was designed by architect Moshe Safdie. NGC OPPOSITE BOTTOM: J.E.H. MacDonald (1873–1932), Beaver Dam and Birches, c. 1919, oil on paperboard. McMichael Canadian Art Collection
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32 DREAMSCAPES WINTER 2021/2022