Art & Artefacts: Inspiring, Interesting & Intriguing

Not too long ago, a few weeks back, to be precise, a group of ethnic media persons were chosen to tour the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and McMichael Museum in Kleinburg, Ontario. Thanks to Ontario Tourism and McMichael Museum, who organized the event, we were able to gain insight into the work done by the ‘Group of Seven’ and other Canadian artists.

Our first stop was The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto's Downtown Grange Park district, on Dundas Street West between McCaul Street and Beverley Street. Its collection includes more than 80,000 works spanning the 1st century to the present day. The gallery has 45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft) of physical space, making it one of the largest galleries in North America. Our focus was the exhibits by the ‘Group of Seven’.

The Group of Seven — sometimes known as the Algonquin school — was a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald  and Frederick Varley. Later, A. J. Casson, Edwin Holgate and LeMoine Fitzgerald became members, at different points.

Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature, The Group of Seven is most famous for its paintings inspired by the Canadian landscape, and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement.

The seven who formed the original group travelled throughout Ontario, especially the Muskoka and Algoma regions, sketching the landscape and developing techniques to represent it in art.

Large collections of work from the Group of Seven can also be found at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. That’s where our next and final destination was.

Upon arrival, we were kindly served a sumptuous lunch before being taken on a guided tour by expert curators.

 The McMichael was founded by Robert and Signe McMichael, who began collecting paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries in 1955.

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an art gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada, northwest of Toronto. It houses an extensive collection of paintings by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, and First Nations and Inuit artists.

The core of this art collection and the very gallery itself are the result of the dreams and vision of two people. Signe and Robert McMichael were, on first sight, completely captivated by the paintings of the Group of Seven which seemed to embody the same love and respect they had for the Canadian landscape.

After becoming a public institution, the collection continued to grow through the ongoing support and donations from Signe and Robert McMichael, as well as many other private collectors. The McMichaels continued to live at the gallery as unpaid curators-in-residence until their retirement in 1981.

We explored outdoor art with Ivan Eyre's dramatic twice-life-size bronze sculptures, the Tom Thompson Shack, the Gallery Shop – all surrounded by 100 acres of beautiful conservation land which you can explore through a network of paths and trails.

Thank you, team of ‘Ontario Tourism and   McMichael Museum for an awe-inspiring and amazing guided tour!

For those interested in learning more, please visit www.mcmichael.com.