Group of Seven.
The Group of Seven were a group of painters who were very significant in Canadian art during the 1920s. The original members consisted of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley (Tom Thompson and Emily Carr were both closely associated with the group, though were never official members). Most of them first met when they were working as employees at the design firm, Grip Ltd. in Toronto. Earlier when they were still an informal group, they traveled Ontario. They would sketch the landscape and soon after began to develop techniques that would represent it in art form. In 1919 they began to call themselves the Group of Seven, and a year later they were ready for first exhibition. The opinions on the art were mixed, though that was mainly due to the fact that it was very different and unique compared to what most people were used to. They were also the first to focus on painting the Canadian wilderness, because most thought of it as too rugged and 'un-paintable' prior to the group’s existence. After the 1920’s, they were considered pioneers in Canadian art, but by 1931, they felt no need to continue as a group of painters and officially ended the group.
Lawren Harris
October 23, 1885- January 29, 1970
-Lawren Harris was one of the more well known members of the Group of Seven.
-He painted landscapes around Toronto, Georgian Bay and Algoma.
-During the 1920s, his style changed and became more abstract and simplified.
-Around that time he also stopped dating and signing his paintings so that people would
not judge the painting by the artist, or year they were painted.
Franklin Carmicheal
May 4, 1890 – October 24, 1945
-Franklin Carmicheal came to Toronto when he was 20 years old to enter the Ontario College of Art.
-He was greatly influenced by Tom Thompson, another Canadian artist who was associated with the group.
-He painted oil and water colour paintings of Northern Canada.
A.Y. Jackson
October 3, 1882 – April 5, 1974
-In 1915, A.Y. Jackson enlisted in the Canadian Army for WII.
-After he was injured and came home he painted many war scenes from WII.
-In 1919, A.Y. Jackson and six other painting colleagues officially created the Group of Seven.
-He is considered a founding member.
Frank Johnston
June 19, 1888 – July 19, 1949
-He exhibited with the group of seven only once, in their first show at the Art Gallery of Toronto
-He became more independent, and a few months later had a large one-man show that included 200 paintings at the T. Eaton Company Gallery
-In 1921 he left Toronto to take up the position as the principal of the Winnipeg School of Art
-In 1924 he officially left the group, because he wanted to be independent
-His style became more realistic later on
Arthur Lismer
June 1885 – 23 March 1969
-He came up with the name as nobody else had any ideas. So he just counted the members and gave them a simple name
-Style was inspired by the Barbizon and Post Impressionist movements in Belgium
-Always had a pencil and paper on hand to draw cartoons
