Tom Thomson: Exhibition of Works from Private Collections
Thomson painted not merely to paint, but because his nature compelled him to paint – because he had a message. The north country enthralled him, body and soul. He began to paint that he might express the emotions the country inspired in him; all the moods and passions, all the sombreness and all the glory of colour, were so felt that they demanded from him pictorial expression. He never gave utterance in words to his feelings of the glories of nature.
Dr. J.M. MacCallum on Tom Thomson
Tom Thomson was an instrumental force in the development of Canadian art, and today he is celebrated as a Canadian icon. An outdoorsman as much as he was a painter, his quiet devotion to capturing the Canadian wilderness as he experienced it forged a new path for Canadian artists to do the same. His colleagues and friends included future members of the Group of Seven, and his influence on them was foundational in their movement towards a new school of Canadian art.
In his prolific, though brief career he traversed the Ontario landscape from 1912 – 1917, most often in a canoe through Algonquin park. Masters Gallery has been fortunate enough to deal in works from across Thomson’s career for many years, and with thanks to our generous clients, we are thrilled to share a selection of works loaned to us from Private Collections. We hope you can join us in our celebration of this monumental artist and his great legacy.
