Introducing: Group of Seven

As Canada’s first distinctively national art movement, the Group of Seven sought to capture the country’s vast and uncompromising wilderness on canvas. Despite having officially formed in 1920 with their first exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto, its seven individual members had already converged on a similar style over the preceding decade, combined with regular socializing at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club. The group comprised Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franklin Carmichael, Frank Johnston, J. E. H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley and Arthur Lismer. The artist Tom Thomson had been a highly influential figure amongst them, but tragically died in 1917 during a canoe trip in Algonquin. Emily Carr was also closely linked to them, despite never officially joining their ranks. Turning their back on older European artistic conventions, the group’s work was characterized by vivid coloring and thick expressive brushstrokes. Collectively they forged a new aesthetic that described a uniquely Canadian experience, achieving international recognition in the process. They disbanded in 1932 after a final exhibition the previous year, but several members went on to found The Canadian Group of Painters in 1933.