The Group of Seven

A new form of art began emerging in Canada in the early 1900s; it entailed a shedding of European traditions to produce art that was an honest portrayal of Canada, unfettered by conventional painting methods. The resulting works were glorious and bold, capturing the subject with a new perspective based more on feeling than simple transcription. Often the subjects of these works were natural settings – rivers, lakes, and streams.

At the forefront of this movement was a group of painters who began to notice a unity in their works. They included Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frederick H. Varley  ^F, Arthur Lismer, Frank Johnson, and Franklin Carmichael. Many of them worked at the same lithography office, while art exhibits and societies served to introduce the others. In Algonquin Park, a favourite site of the Group, Tom Thomson, a knowledgeable woodsman and canoeist, turned the eyes of the other artists to the Canadian wilderness.

Tom Thomson powerfully inspired the other artists. In the minds of many Canadians his paintings Northern Lake (1913), Northern River (1914-15), and Spring Ice (1916)  ^G still remain glorious symbols of this country.

Thomson died mysteriously in 1917, but his legacy lived on when, in 1920, his colleagues officially formed the Group of Seven. It served to cement friendships that had been alive for almost a decade, as well as providing a protective front against the criticism which the artists faced. It also enabled them to launch a vigorous campaign of support for the revolutionary works they were producing at the time.

At first the works of the Group of Seven were subjected to bitter denunciation for the "decadent ideas" they were propagating, and which some columnists considered "an affront to common decency." Such criticism served to draw attention to the artists. Acceptance by the Canadian public was increasing and before long the works of members of the Group were considered expressions of the essence of Canada.

The Group themselves played an important part in the claiming of northern Canada as the domain of the artist as well as the explorer, interpreting and endowing it with meaning. A.Y. Jackson wrote of Algoma:

Since this country was on the height of land, there were dozens of lakes, many of them not on the map. For identification purposes we gave them names. The bright sparkling lakes we named after people we admired like Thomson and MacCallum; to the swampy ones, all messed up with moose tracks, we gave the names of the critics who disparaged us. ²

By the early 1930s, the Group had painted scenes of the country from coast to coast. Each artist maintained his own individual style; some of the painters also became associated with a particular area (Algoma, for example, was considered MacDonald's territory).

The Group's final exhibition was held in 1931. The Group disbanded following the presentation, claiming that they had been replaced by a much bigger movement. A new group – the Canadian Group of Painters – was formed. Perhaps the Group of Seven realized that their renown, while serving to give Canadians a new picture of the landscape, also made it difficult for other artists to accomplish this same task. With Lismer and Jackson as its mentors, the new group attempted to further the search for meaningful interpretations of the Canadian vista that had been spearheaded by the Group of Seven.

Following World War II, most mainstream artists turned away from natural subjects and attempts to portray a unique Canadian identity through landscape art. It was in this period, curiously enough, when large-scale developments began their affects on Canadian rivers and streams. Industrial development polluted more and more rivers and streams. Hydroelectric dams arrested the flow of rivers that had inspired art and given life to the people and animals that lived along their shores. Enormous reservoirs drowned thousands of square kilometres of some of Canada's most scenic and productive regions. The people who lived at the rich boundary of water and land suffered from this development.

If artists reflect the soul of a people, then it is possible that not just artists, but Canadians in general, were looking elsewhere for meaning in their country. Unlimited growth and spiralling wealth became paramount. Manipulation of rivers meant power and profit, so streams became elements of plumbing, to be dammed, diverted, and converted to sewers for the wastes of our industrial society.

In recent years, artists have been turning back to the natural landscape, and some of them have used their art to raise awareness of environmental issues. For instance, Carmanah Creek, a stream on Vancouver Island, along which grow the greatest Sitka Spruce trees in the world, was slated for clear-cut logging. In 1989, 70 artists, including Robert Bateman, Toni Onley and Roy Vickers visited it to paint their conception of this magnificent wilderness valley. Their work helped focus attention on the valley and its importance to Canada; their concern may signal a change in the values of a nation.

These modern day artists have not gone unappreciated. Landscape art has undergone a surge of renewed popularity in Canada. Names like Robert Bateman have become synonymous with environmental conservation as well as with brilliant artistry. Bateman's paintings, such as Summer Morning - Loon and Northern Reflections – Loon Family,  ^H which highlight natural settings and the wildlife that inhabit them, are images Canadians hold in growing appreciation. This reflects the continuing trend toward environmental awareness. Canadians are becoming increasingly concerned about the predicament of natural systems around the world.

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