Page 33 - Dreamscapes Magazine | Winter 2021-2022

on the arts circuit. Art critics of the day hailed them as the “modernism of the future” with their avant-garde bold splashes of colour that broke from convention.
Through wild woods and rocky outcrop- pings, stomping on the oldest rock in the world, each artist was seduced by his muse—Canada’s great outdoors.
CANADIAN ICONS
The Group of Seven achieved fame for the unique Canadian landscapes they captured as these adventurous artists ventured into remote, yet now iconic areas including Algonquin Park, Killarney Provincial Park and Baffin Island in the North, often by
boxcar and by canoe. On a mission to develop a distinct Canadian artistic style, what emerged was a style that depicts the rugged beauty of the Canadian landscape, influenced by modern art movements (Impressionism, Arts and Crafts, and Art Deco) popular at the time in Europe.
To help find your love of Canadian land- scapes conceived on canvas, here’s a snapshot of galleries and places you can visit for Group of Seven collections.
VISIT THE ORIGINAL EXHIBITION SPACE (1920–1933)
In May 1920 the Art Gallery of Toronto (known today as the Art Gallery of Ontario and AGO) hosted the group’s first official exhibition featuring a collection of 120 paintings. Held over a three-week period, the exhibition attracted over 2,000 visitors, yet only six artworks sold. Today, the AGO has 791 artworks in its permanent collection.
Gallery Highlights
Lawren S. Harris’ Winter Afternoon, City Street, Toronto or Sunday Morning (1918): On a bone-chillingly cold winter day you could relate to the passers by bundled up against the cold.
Arthur Lismer’s Sunlight in a Wood (1930): Sunlight shines onto a mossy forest floor.
HEAD OUTDOORS INTO THE GROUP OF SEVEN “STUDIOS”
Hit the Tom Thomson Trail
A three-season multi-use trail, you can hike, cycle and horseback from Owen Sound to Leith along the 43-km Tom Thomson Trail. In Meaford, visit the cemetery at the historic Leith Church, which is considered the final resting place of the late great Tom Thomson, whose tragic death continues to be shrouded in mystery.
Visit Algoma, Ontario
Both Lawren S. Harris and J.E.H. Mac- Donald depict waterfalls in Algoma: Waterfall, Algoma Canyon, Algoma (1919) by Lawren S. Harris and Algoma Water- fall (1920) by J.E.H. MacDonald. It is not advisable to tour Algoma’s waterfalls in winter. A popular “studio” destination for these artists, discover other outdoor seasonal secrets around Algoma from icy brooks to frozen lakes and dense forests.
Enjoy an App-inspired Drive
Download an app from the Moments of Algoma Group of Seven and prepare to embark on a self-guided driving tour that showcases scenic lookouts and rocky shorelines. In-between all the sprawling Mother Nature, you’ll stumble upon the oldest rock on the planet: the Canadian Shield. Later, stop at the Art Gallery of Algoma, which has a perma- nent collection by the Group of Seven.
Head to Beautiful British Columbia
Experience a west coast sunset similar to West Coast Sunset, Vancouver (1926) by Frederick Varley, by heading either to Kitsilano or Sunset Beach in Vancouver. For Indigenous scenes depicted in Totem Poles, Kitwanga (1926) by A.Y. Jackson, take a self-guided tour through eight villages near Kitwanga in central B.C., home to some 50 totem poles.
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