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Art Canadian

The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson

by (author) David P. Silcox

Publisher
Firefly Books
Initial publish date
Aug 2006
Category
Canadian
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781554071548
    Publish Date
    Aug 2006
    List Price
    $49.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781554078851
    Publish Date
    Nov 2011
    List Price
    $39.95

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Description

"Silcox [is] a wonderfully lucid stylist . . . this definitive volume presents 400 supreme color reproductions . . . covering the entire spectrum of the proficient and prolific group's magnificent output . . . every painting is vibrantly, radiantly, and gloriously alive: a veritable hymn to life."
-- Booklist

At a critical time in Canada's history, the Group of Seven revolutionized the country's appreciation of itself by celebrating Canada as a wild and beautiful land. These paintings of the wilderness evoke the same response in viewers today as they did when first exhibited.

Now in paperback, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson is even more affordable than the celebrated original hardcover edition. This award-winning bestseller includes many never-before reproduced paintings and presents the most complete and extensive collection of these artists' works ever published. The 400 paintings and drawings reveal the remarkable genius of all 10 painters who, at some point, were part of the movement. Tom Thomson, who died before the Group was established, was always present in the public mind.

Included are works by:

  • Frank Carmichael
  • Frank Johnston
  • A.J. Casson
  • Arthur Lismer
  • Le Moine FitzGerald
  • J.E.H. MacDonald
  • Lawren Harris
  • Tom Thomson
  • Edwin Holgate
  • F.H. Varley
  • A.Y. Jackson.

The artwork is organized by the various regions of Canada, with additional sections on the war years and still-life paintings. Introductory essays provide a context for a greater understanding and appreciation of Canada's most celebrated artists.

About the author

David P Silcox, managing director of Sotheby's Canada, is an art historian, a cultural administrator and a senior fellow at Massey College He is also widely recognized for his writings on the artists David Milne, Christopher Pratt and Jack Bush

David P. Silcox's profile page

Editorial Reviews

This is a gorgeous book that deserves a place on any art lover's bookshelf.

Saskatoon Star Phoenix

Includes many rarely seen paintings as well as the signature paintings that dazzle our imagination... The paintings are set on a white matte paper that allows the richness of the color and texture of the brushstroke to come through... The historical information is concisely written, offering insight into the men who led the movement of Canadian art into new, daring, interpretive and abstract directions. This beautiful book will be appreciated whenever it is opened. It's a gift, in more ways than can be expressed.

Winnipeg Free Press

A splendid volume.

Waterloo Record

The best introduction to the Group available. With elegant ease, Silcox expertly recounts the Group's travels and artistic concerns, relating them to the times with a refined talent for synthesis. The 369 reproductions look even crisper than those in the original edition.

Montreal Gazette

Recently released in paperback, this fabulous book is a definitive collection of a group of artists who helped establish a national perspective. Their dramatic use of colour and line created a style uniquely Canadian that gave rise to an entire painting tradition. Featuring 400 works, the paintings are divided into a number of different sections that address the regional influences along with the urban and portraiture subjects.

North Shore News

Notable for the superb quality and the quantity of its color plates.... Organized thematically, rather than by artist, the volume collects together notable works according to subject, including portraits, WWI, and urban and village scenes, with the majority of the works grouped into the geographic areas that the painters depicted... Each chapter opens with an essay, followed by page upon page of full-page color plates of the intensely colorful works.

Book News

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