The Group of Seven were a small movement of painters who met in the Canadian city of Toronto early in the 20th century and began exploring the Canadian landscape in new, modern and exciting ways. Major artists in the group include Franklin Carmichael Lawren Harries and Frank Johnston. Also associated but not officially members were Tom Thomson and Emily Carr. The group believed a strong Canadian identity and style could be created based on direct contact with nature. Although clearly influenced by Impressionism and other modern European experiments, the group forged their own particular identity in painting through their exploration of the rugged Canadian wilderness. This short course will explore these individuals, whilst considering their influences and the ways in which they embraced their particular Canadian circumstances. We will also briefly investigate the affects of Impressionism and local groups of modern painters further south in the USA.
Course aim
In this short course we will investigate the work of a small group of artists working in Canada at the turn of the 20th century in order to better understand modernism and landscape painting in that part of the world.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Identify works by Tom Thomson and Emily Carr
- Describe the circumstances in which the Group of Seven was formed
- Begin to discuss how the group developed from their European influences towards a particularly Canadian style of landscape painting.
- Identify and describe works by Franklin Carmichael
What else do I need to know?
You do not need to bring anything else to this course.
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