History

Celebrating 100 years of the Group of Seven

Their first exhibition was May 7, 1920 at what is now the Art Gallery of Ontario

  • Published May 07, 2020
  • Updated Jun 21, 2024
  • 191 words
  • 1 minutes

Founded in 1920, the Group of Seven was a school of landscape painters focused on modern art. Their boreal forest panoramas of the Canadian Shield have become symbols of Canadian strength and independence. 

The first members of the group included Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and F.H. Varley. In 1926, Johnston resigned and A.J. Casson joined the group. Edwin Holgate and L.L. FitzGerald joined in 1930 and 1932 respectively, expanding the group’s borders beyond Toronto. 

Tom Thomson, who died in 1917, never ended up an official member of the Group of Seven, but was a great influence on the group, encouraging them to paint the Northern Ontario landscapes that then became famous. 

Their first exhibition was May 7, 1920 at what is now the Art Gallery of Ontario. Eric Brown, the director of the National Gallery of Canada, was a huge supporter of the group and ensured they were well-represented at British exhibitions. 

The group disbanded in 1933.

Canadian Geographic commemorates 2020 is a series of articles, funded by the Government of Canada, celebrating milestone anniversaries of significance to the country’s history. 

Franklin Carmichael (1890 – 1945) | October Gold 1922 | oil on canvas, 119.5 x 98 cm | Gift of the Founders, Robert and Signe McMichael | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1966.16.1
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A.Y. Jackson (1882 – 1974) | Hills, Killarney, Ontario (Nellie Lake) c. 1933 | oil on canvas, 77.3 x 81.7 cm | Gift of Mr. S. Walter Stewart | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1968.8.28
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A.Y. Jackson (1882 – 1974) | Indian Home, Port Essington, B.C. 1926 | oil on wood panel, 21.1 x 26.6 cm | Gift of Mr. S. Walter Stewart | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1968.8.3
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Lawren S. Harris (1885 – 1970) | Montreal River c. 1920 | oil on paperboard, 27 x 34.7 cm (10 5/8 x 13 11/16 in) | Gift of the Founders, Robert and Signe McMichael | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1966.16.77
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Lawren S. Harris (1885 – 1970) | Pic Island c. 1924 | oil on canvas, 123.3 × 153.9 cm (48 9/16 × 60 9/16 in.) | Gift of Colonel R.S. McLaughlin | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1968.7.4
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Lawren S. Harris (1885 – 1970) | Mt. Lefroy 1930 | oil on canvas, 133.5 x 153.5 cm | Purchase 1975 | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1975.7
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A.J. Casson (1898 – 1992) | October, North Shore 1929 | oil on canvas, 76.4 x 91.8 cm | Purchase 1985 | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1985.15
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Edwin Holgate (1892 – 1977) | Baie des Moutons, Looking Northward c. 1930 | oil on canvas, 63.3 x 76.1 cm | Purchase 1986 | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1986.34
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Frank Johnston (1888 – 1949) | Vanishing Winter | oil on hardboard, 32 x 44.8 cm | Donated to the McMichael Canadian Collection by Mr. E.G. Davis in memory of Mr. and Mrs. E.W.M. Davis of Montreal. | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1987.44
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A.J. Casson (1898 – 1992) | At Rosseau, Muskoka 1920 | oil on wood panel, 23.3 x 28.4 cm | Gift of the Artist | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1989.10
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A.J. Casson (1898 – 1992) | The White Pine 1948 | tempera over graphite on paper | 27.1 x 33.5 cm | Purchase 1986 | McMichael Canadian Art Collection 1986.16
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