Tom Thomson was the most influential and enduringly popular Canadian artist of the early 20th century. An intense, wry, and gentle artist with a canny sensibility, he was an early inspiration for what became the Group of Seven. He was one of the first painters to give acute visual form to the Canadian landscape. I love his works and I'm so happy I could discover them thanks to the suggestion of one of DailyArt users! :)
This painting is based on a small oil sketch made in Algonquin Park in Ontario in the fall of 1915, two years before the artist's death. Thomson's later paintings vary in composition and contain vivid colors and thickly applied paint, and today's work is a good example of this.
Thomson developed a reputation during his lifetime as a veritable outdoorsman, talented in both fishing and canoeing, although his skills in the latter have been contested. The circumstances of his drowning on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, linked with his image as a master canoeist, led to unsubstantiated but persistent rumors that he had been murdered or committed suicide.
P.S. Have you heard of Emily Carr? She was a Canadian artist from the same period who, already back then, reflected her concern about environmental problems and climate change in Canada.
P.P.S. If you love such beautiful landscapes, please check our 2023 paper calendars full of AMAZING and beautiful masterpieces! :)