This 90 minute documentary takes us to northern Ontario to see the country where the Canadian "Group of Seven" painters did a large portion of their work post WWI / during 1920's. For the first time, the actual sites where the artists stood/sat and painted in a remote and rugged landscape are found. It is fascinating to see the exact viewpoint shown from today, the screen then giving way to the paintings which have become so familiar and iconic to Canadians. It is beautifully shot with rugged landscape, rich fall colours, and rushing waterfalls - in the words of one of the artists, "a fairy land, Dante's dream". Recommend.
7 Reviews
In Search of the Group of Seven
riellystares9 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I wrote this article about the new documentary entitled Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven for Cinematica, the official blog of the Screening Room in Kingston, Ontario and was published on November 11, 2015. Follow this link to the Cinematica site. If you wish to watch this documentary it is available for free through the TVO website through this link.
On November 14th & November 15th at 1pm and 4pm, The Screening Room is showing a new 2015 film entitled Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven. Excitingly, producers Nancy Lang and Peter Raymont (a Queen's alumni!) will be on hand on Saturday to give a talks to accompany the screenings.
By 1913 six coworkers at the design company Grip Inc. in Toronto, who were also painters, Tom Thomson, J. E. H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston and Franklin Carmichael, were accustomed to sharing their paintings with each other at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club. That year, because they were on the lookout for new artists whose work excited them, they invited A.Y. Jackson from Montreal, and Lawren Harris from Vancouver to join them. This was the group of eight artists that was later to become the Group of Seven. To give a cosmopolitan perspective to things, Picasso had yet to exhibit his first cubist painting - Picasso's latest known works at the time were from the rose period; the impressionists had shaken the European art world to its core from the 1870s to the 1890s; a new century had begun and with it had come the death of the long-reigning and era-defining Queen Victoria. Everything seemed very new. Electricity was fairly new, photography was fairly new. A new feeling in art was stirring in Europe and the United States, and it was stirring in Canada too.
Adding to the romance of this story, in 1917, four years later, Tom Thomson, a founding member of this group of eight, who had begun to transition from a designer to a full-time painter by then, died in Algonquin Park on a summer painting expedition. In the years before he died he was producing his now most famous works and working out of a little utility shack in Rosedale in Toronto on the grounds of a larger artists' studio. Although the coronor did not say so, it has been suspected since his death that the 39 year old Tom Thomson was murdered by a friend. Speculated motives range from that Thomson impregnated someone, to that Thomson slept with his friend's wife, or that the murderer owed Thomson a debt he could not repay.
Tom Thomson is acknowledged as an extremely sensitive and beautiful artist. He was influenced by European impressionists but also, strangely enough given that his primary subject was Canadian landscape, by art deco. Some of his work puts him on the leading edge of abstract art in Canada. He was also very attractive man and clearly loved by his fellow painters, who were galvanized by his loss. Tom Thomson's death struck a note in the hearts of his friends that deepened an already accumulating feeling that this group of men had something to say with their art about nature and the Canadian landscape that was unique to the world and that life was too short to waste time. In 1920, the remaining seven members of the group, three years after the death of the beloved Tom Thomson, exhibited for the first time, having the self-awareness and self-importance to present themselves as "The Group of Seven." There were a couple of additions and subtractions to the group, but it remained remarkably cohesive until the end.
One of the things that makes the Canadian landscape interesting is that, at the wrong time and place, the landscape can be deadly. Also, the wilderness is so vast in comparison with the settled areas. The painters in the Group of Seven variously translate these feelings by conveying their intense respect for the landscape and nature in different kinds of majestic, special, often magical, deep, sometimes harrowing, and iconic images. Placing the Group of Seven into the context of world art history is a process that is still ongoing. It was only in 2012 there was a show in South London at the Dulwich Picture Gallery called Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, which was the most important exhibit of its kind to that date. Also significant, just a few weeks ago in Los Angeles the Hammer Gallery opened a show of a single member of the Group of Seven. Lawren Harris' work entitled The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris, which is the first major show of Harris' work or any Group of Seven work so far in the United States. This exhibit was organized between the Hammer Gallery and the AGO and is the brainchild of American actor, writer, and art collector, Steve Martin, who was also the curator. It will go on until January 2016. In interviews about this landmark show, Martin explains that Canadian law is prohibitive of masterworks being sold or even moved across international borders. In order to do either a committee be consulted who must agree to let a painting go. It is difficult, therefore, for a person who does not live in Canada to buy our best art, and quite a bit of work to exhibit it. Therefore great Canadian art has not been circulating in the auctions in world art centres like New York, Los Angeles, London, and Paris. Partly because of this, Martin speculates, important Canadian artists such as Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven including Lawren Harris have been largely isolated from the discussion that the rest of the world has been having about the art of the 20th Century.
In Canada, however the fervour for The Group of Seven is ardent and legendary. Even Canadians who don't know anything about art have at least heard the term "The Group of Seven." I think at it's basis this is a credit to the intensity of these artists who felt charged during their lifetimes to stake their claim on a grand legacy. In continuation of lives fueled from this intensity, the grandeur is further evidenced by the fact that that six of the seven men have been ceremoniously buried together in the McMichael Cemetary in Kleinberg, Ontario along with their wives, on a hill near the McMichael Gallery within sight of a shack that Tom Thomson used as a studio. One of the members, Frank Johnston, and his wife was disinterred in order to be re-buried there. The husband and wife founders of the McMichael gallery, Robert and Signe McMichael, are also buried there. Each of the graves is fittingly marked by a huge slab of granite cut from the Canadian shield.
I'm really excited to see how this film will add to an already present awareness of these important artists in Canada, and to the accessibility of the story or The Group of Seven and other significant Canadian artists and their work internationally.
On November 14th & November 15th at 1pm and 4pm, The Screening Room is showing a new 2015 film entitled Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven. Excitingly, producers Nancy Lang and Peter Raymont (a Queen's alumni!) will be on hand on Saturday to give a talks to accompany the screenings.
By 1913 six coworkers at the design company Grip Inc. in Toronto, who were also painters, Tom Thomson, J. E. H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston and Franklin Carmichael, were accustomed to sharing their paintings with each other at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club. That year, because they were on the lookout for new artists whose work excited them, they invited A.Y. Jackson from Montreal, and Lawren Harris from Vancouver to join them. This was the group of eight artists that was later to become the Group of Seven. To give a cosmopolitan perspective to things, Picasso had yet to exhibit his first cubist painting - Picasso's latest known works at the time were from the rose period; the impressionists had shaken the European art world to its core from the 1870s to the 1890s; a new century had begun and with it had come the death of the long-reigning and era-defining Queen Victoria. Everything seemed very new. Electricity was fairly new, photography was fairly new. A new feeling in art was stirring in Europe and the United States, and it was stirring in Canada too.
Adding to the romance of this story, in 1917, four years later, Tom Thomson, a founding member of this group of eight, who had begun to transition from a designer to a full-time painter by then, died in Algonquin Park on a summer painting expedition. In the years before he died he was producing his now most famous works and working out of a little utility shack in Rosedale in Toronto on the grounds of a larger artists' studio. Although the coronor did not say so, it has been suspected since his death that the 39 year old Tom Thomson was murdered by a friend. Speculated motives range from that Thomson impregnated someone, to that Thomson slept with his friend's wife, or that the murderer owed Thomson a debt he could not repay.
Tom Thomson is acknowledged as an extremely sensitive and beautiful artist. He was influenced by European impressionists but also, strangely enough given that his primary subject was Canadian landscape, by art deco. Some of his work puts him on the leading edge of abstract art in Canada. He was also very attractive man and clearly loved by his fellow painters, who were galvanized by his loss. Tom Thomson's death struck a note in the hearts of his friends that deepened an already accumulating feeling that this group of men had something to say with their art about nature and the Canadian landscape that was unique to the world and that life was too short to waste time. In 1920, the remaining seven members of the group, three years after the death of the beloved Tom Thomson, exhibited for the first time, having the self-awareness and self-importance to present themselves as "The Group of Seven." There were a couple of additions and subtractions to the group, but it remained remarkably cohesive until the end.
One of the things that makes the Canadian landscape interesting is that, at the wrong time and place, the landscape can be deadly. Also, the wilderness is so vast in comparison with the settled areas. The painters in the Group of Seven variously translate these feelings by conveying their intense respect for the landscape and nature in different kinds of majestic, special, often magical, deep, sometimes harrowing, and iconic images. Placing the Group of Seven into the context of world art history is a process that is still ongoing. It was only in 2012 there was a show in South London at the Dulwich Picture Gallery called Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, which was the most important exhibit of its kind to that date. Also significant, just a few weeks ago in Los Angeles the Hammer Gallery opened a show of a single member of the Group of Seven. Lawren Harris' work entitled The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris, which is the first major show of Harris' work or any Group of Seven work so far in the United States. This exhibit was organized between the Hammer Gallery and the AGO and is the brainchild of American actor, writer, and art collector, Steve Martin, who was also the curator. It will go on until January 2016. In interviews about this landmark show, Martin explains that Canadian law is prohibitive of masterworks being sold or even moved across international borders. In order to do either a committee be consulted who must agree to let a painting go. It is difficult, therefore, for a person who does not live in Canada to buy our best art, and quite a bit of work to exhibit it. Therefore great Canadian art has not been circulating in the auctions in world art centres like New York, Los Angeles, London, and Paris. Partly because of this, Martin speculates, important Canadian artists such as Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven including Lawren Harris have been largely isolated from the discussion that the rest of the world has been having about the art of the 20th Century.
In Canada, however the fervour for The Group of Seven is ardent and legendary. Even Canadians who don't know anything about art have at least heard the term "The Group of Seven." I think at it's basis this is a credit to the intensity of these artists who felt charged during their lifetimes to stake their claim on a grand legacy. In continuation of lives fueled from this intensity, the grandeur is further evidenced by the fact that that six of the seven men have been ceremoniously buried together in the McMichael Cemetary in Kleinberg, Ontario along with their wives, on a hill near the McMichael Gallery within sight of a shack that Tom Thomson used as a studio. One of the members, Frank Johnston, and his wife was disinterred in order to be re-buried there. The husband and wife founders of the McMichael gallery, Robert and Signe McMichael, are also buried there. Each of the graves is fittingly marked by a huge slab of granite cut from the Canadian shield.
I'm really excited to see how this film will add to an already present awareness of these important artists in Canada, and to the accessibility of the story or The Group of Seven and other significant Canadian artists and their work internationally.
Positively an enchanting journey of search and discovery!
bobmoore-453913 October 2015
Get ready for a breathtaking journey into one of North America's most rugged and beautiful landscapes. This documentary will take you deep into the back country of Algoma and the coastline of eastern Lake Superior. The striking cinematography, the exceptional musical score, the weaving of historical footage and letters with a contemporary adventure search for the rediscovery of lost Group of Seven painting sites kept me spellbound. I love history when you can see a photo or a work of art and then be transported today to the exact location where each was created long ago. This is a special film because it brings a deeper understanding of the motivation of artists, writers, and photographers in their interpretation of the natural world. I found it simply enchanting!
A Nostalgic Look at a Canadian Frontier through Art
rayhyde-557798 October 2015
Lake Superior Highlands,and Algoma Country have long been remote mystical frontiers.This film revives the nostalgic beauty of the region as captured through the art of the Group of Seven,and the dialogue of our contemporary actors and film crews.In addition,the musical score as a backdrop to the photography in the film is complimentary to the historic and natural panorama as seen by both artists and actors. Once again,we stand proud in the accomplishments of the Group of Seven,and the crews producing this film. Lake Superior and Algoma Country have a renewed place in the Canadian Artistic and Cultural world due to their efforts. As part of our heritage,this is a must see film.
Ray Hyde
Ray Hyde
An excellent film depicting our landscape as originally represented by the Group of Seven
barryhansen-2586214 October 2015
Having spent most of my life hiking and canoeing along the Superior coast I found this film a breathtaking reminder of all I had seen and enjoyed.Having always been aware of the Group of Seven I had not appreciated the true scope of their work until viewing this film .The interweaving of the past with the present is excellent. For me the old scenes were nostalgic for others it should be a beautiful window into the past .The ruggedness ,the awe inspiring landscape the boundless natural beauty is presented in a way that will make anyone catch their breath .The makers of this film have done a tremendous job in reminding us of why this land of ours is so wonderful and why it should be valued and protected
Painted Land In Search of the Group of Seven
seafoam-727964 October 2015
Absolutely breathtaking. A piece of home and Canadian History awakened. A recognition of the greatest artists in Canadian History. A learning experience of the progression of art technique that most certainly was and still is today embedded in many Canadian artists today. My artistic ability was deeply stirred. My love for Algoma reaffirmed.
The years of research by Michael Burtch shows tremendous accuracy and a deep passion for these beloved artists. An outstanding piece of historical research. The wilderness skills of Michael, Gary and Joan enabled the viewer to have a solid understanding and affirmation of the truth and the Groups' journey.
I tip my hat to Phyllis Ellis (White Pine Productions) and all crew for a professional and polished Canadian documentary. They had the courage to step into the past, experience Canada's true wilderness and meet the challenge.
I cannot thank them enough for rekindling the artist in me and my need to experience the land of Algoma which frees my heart and soul. I look forward to painting and walking on the land again.
A documentary that brought me back to an old awaiting friend.
An award is in order.
Sandy Houston
The years of research by Michael Burtch shows tremendous accuracy and a deep passion for these beloved artists. An outstanding piece of historical research. The wilderness skills of Michael, Gary and Joan enabled the viewer to have a solid understanding and affirmation of the truth and the Groups' journey.
I tip my hat to Phyllis Ellis (White Pine Productions) and all crew for a professional and polished Canadian documentary. They had the courage to step into the past, experience Canada's true wilderness and meet the challenge.
I cannot thank them enough for rekindling the artist in me and my need to experience the land of Algoma which frees my heart and soul. I look forward to painting and walking on the land again.
A documentary that brought me back to an old awaiting friend.
An award is in order.
Sandy Houston
Manages to make a great subject dull.
jdejuan6621 September 2016
The Group of Seven and Tom Thompson's star has been rising for a while in the art market and the art world in general. It is time for a good documentary on their work and vision. This is barely it. First the good stuff: it is quite interesting that this group goes around following the steps of the painters in the Algoma and North Shore of Lake Superior. Their purpose: to make a photography book where they contrast the artists work with the actual locations, some of them hard to reach. They seem to have done their research well. The scenery is breathtaking indeed as something you would see in the Ontario Tourism Board. For the not so good: An art documentary should take exquisite care to film the artworks themselves in crisp glorious detail. This doc resolution can't handle the big screen where it belongs. It contains a great amount of close-ups of the impasto on the boards (not always canvas as they say) which is a treat in itself but the paintings lack context and read more like a slide show. There is some footage of re-enactors dressed in period clothing etc that is totally superfluous. It would have been much better to either do a proper re-enactment with consistent performers or none at all and replace it with footage of the actual painters and a bit more background on their stories. There is a conservation and art education agenda which is an excellent effort but it is delivered mostly by the wild-eyed female collaborator in a gushy repetitive tone that is off-putting. How many times is she going to say "the land" in that reverential new-age tone only a geologists should adopt. The art students joining the expedition offers some slightly cringe-worthy moment as they display a natural but complete lack of understanding of the painting process (Why not use the tools given to the re-enactors?). The students mimic the campers emphasizing the calmness and soundtrack of the forest and the deep breathing as if this was yoga. Never mind plein air studies require a concentrated effort and intensity that they seem oblivious to and is clearly absent in the results. Fair enough, they are young, the film makers are not painters, but why not let the educational experience speak for itself without dragging students into it as in any old Public Service Advert. why not let "the land" speak for itself and tuck the conservation agenda with some actionable advice or none at all? So go in for the scenery, make plans to visit the area and avoid late summer or you'll have to fight the tourists. Better yet, get the book.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
