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 recognized for his work on the painters David Milne, Christopher Pratt and Jack Bush.

From the Author

In Canada, everyone grew up with and loved reproductions of paintings by the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson. These painters (all eleven of them!) defined the way Canadians saw their country.The Group was formed in 1920 and exhibited together only eight times from 1920 to 1931 before they disbanded in 1933. One member dropped out right after the first exhibition; another was added in 1926, another in 1929, and yet another in 1932, but the name, with delightful illogic, remained unchanged. ''The …+ read more

In Canada, everyone grew up with and loved reproductions of paintings by the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson. These painters (all eleven of them!) defined the way Canadians saw their country.

The Group was formed in 1920 and exhibited together only eight times from 1920 to 1931 before they disbanded in 1933. One member dropped out right after the first exhibition; another was added in 1926, another in 1929, and yet another in 1932, but the name, with delightful illogic, remained unchanged. ''The Group had no formal organization,'' A.Y. Jackson wrote later, ''and since we had no money we had no need of a treasurer.'' They never painted together as a group, and indeed on only two occasions did even four of them paint together. Their main focal points in Toronto were their studios and the Arts and Letters Club, where they regularly had lunch together.

You would think that such an important art movement, which determined the course of Canadian painting for decades, would have many publications to honour and display their work. But, until now, there has not been a single volume in which a generous selection of work by each member could be seen. Out of 369 colour plates, nearly a third are reproduced here for the first time. They show the wide range of subjects that attracted the Group: landscapes from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Arctic oceans, cities, towns, villages, and farms, people, flowers, and the turmoil of the First World War. This is as large a compendium of these magnificent works as is likely to be published in our time.

This compact edition is identical to Silcox's 2003 award winning bestseller. The book is a comprehensive study of the famous Canadian art movement, its time, 400 full colour artworks are organised by region and theme, each group introduced by an essay. At a critical time in Canada's history, the Group of Seven revolutionised 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. The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson 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, I.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, Edwin Holgate, F.H. Varley, A.Y. Jackson. The artwork is organised 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.