The Group Of Seven

The Group of Seven were Canadian landscape artists inspired by the wilderness paintings of Tom Thomson, who died under mysterious circumstances while on a trek in Ontario's Algonquin Park in 1917 (his body was found floating in Canoe Lake, but an autopsy showed an injury to the head and no evidence of water in his lungs).The artsts of the Group of Seven were strongly influenced by Post-Impressionism, creating bold, vividly-colored canvases, and infusing elements of the landscape with symbolic meaning.The group was not limited to the seven founding members, and they eventually changed their name to the Canadian Group of Painters. Besides Thomson, the group included Franklin Carmichael, A.J. Casson, Lionel Fitzgerald, Arthur Lismer, Lawren Harris, Edwin Holgate, A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. MacDonald, F.H. Varley. West Coast painter Emily Carr was inspired by the group early in her career.