Tom Thomson Boxed Notecard Assortment

In life and on canvas, Tom Thomson (1877–1917) evoked the spirit of the Canadian wilderness. Around 1909, he met some of the artists who would eventually found the famed Group of Seven, Canada’s first national school of painters. These menbencouraged Thomson to develop his artistic skills and introduced him to new art theories and techniques. In turn, the outdoorsman imparted to the group his love of the north woods, frequently accompanying them on sketching excursions. He developed a personal style—characterized by bold brush strokes, an expressive use of impasto, and rich colors—that conveys strength, palpability, and a deep, affectionate familiarity with the landscape. This set of notecards reproduces four of his best oil paintings.

Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson (Canadian, 1877–1917) loved the rough country of northern Ontario. An avid outdoorsman and backcountry guide, he had a brief but brilliant art career profoundly influenced by the Canadian landscape. After a slow beginning as an artist, he found his stride and created hundreds of sketches recording his impressions of the wilderness in small oils remarkable for their vivid color and bold brushwork. Many of Thomson’s paintings were executed in only a few hours but are nonetheless emblematic of Canadian art. Thomson would not live to see the birth of the Group of Seven, yet despite his untimely death in 1917, his name became synonymous with the Group, and together their works have come to symbolize a distinctly Canadian identity.