Tom Thomson Analysis

Born on August 5, 1877, Tom Thomson was an extremely talented artist in the late 1800's and early 1900’s. Although he died on July 8, 1917, before the Group of Seven was established in 1920, Thomson was an amazing landscapist. In fact, he influenced the Group of Seven to become the talented artists that we recognize to this day. Despite the fact that Tom Thomson and Emily Carr passed away before the Group of Seven was officially created, they were both considered members of the group and are constantly mentioned with the group of seven.

Many magnificent paintings such as the West Wind, Woodland Waterfall, Northern River, and Bateaux were illustrated by Tom Thomson. After his devastating death, he left behind around 30 canvases and over 300 sketches that are now expensive artifacts kept in beautiful frames all around Ontario. His last drawing that marked the end of his artistic career was called the Jack Pine, one of the most iconic paintings of Canada’s vast landscape. On his last annual trip to the Algonquin Park he began to draw the image of the tree next to a lake on a beautiful spring evening in 1916. The background portrays Grand Lake with hill near Carcajou Bay.

The Jack pine tree has been used by the First Nations peoples all around the boundless country as a source of food and medicine for centuries. The tree is a native species that has become a symbol for Canada and its vast, breathtaking land. The Jack pine is known to be the most common pine tree in Canada and is found in the Boreal Forest and in other rocky or sandy areas. The specific tree that Thomson sketched in his stunning masterpiece had fallen down and been used as firewood by campers in the park before the painting was