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CM . . . .
Volume VI Number 15 . . . . March 31, 2000
Meet the Group of Seven is a wonderful reference tool that informs children about the Group
of Seven as individuals and as a collective and shows painting after painting after painting. It is
well organized by topic, covering background information on each of the members, discussing
their method of painting, how it differed from other schools of art, opinions about them, Tom
Thomson, other artists, etc. Photographs of the Group members at work and the times in which
they lived are also sprinkled throughout, as are reproductions. Interesting inclusions are
photographs of the scenes represented in paintings, and they are remarkably similar.
The layout of the pages resembles the "Eyewitness" series style of presentation. A great deal of
interesting information about the painters is available to the reader. An adult will also learn much
about the painters personally and their work. Their method of work was groundbreaking in an
artistic world that was used to completing pencil sketches and returning to the studio to add
colour. Instead, the Group held the view that capturing the colour at the moment was of prime
importance, and they trudged into the wilderness carrying oils and brushes to create inconvenient,
small, wet, canvasses that were later translated into a larger format. They used bold brush strokes
to express the shape and movement of the wilderness in defiance of the previously unchallenged
style of exact reproduction. Their role in the history of art and the history of the nation is both
explained in words and in comparative art examples.
The authors, both of whom work or have worked for the Art Gallery of Ontario, have done a
good job of creating easily understandable explanations of the art for children of school age.
"MacDonald also shows you the powerful forces of nature by emphasizing the patterns in nature.
See how he simplifies the shapes of the hills and trees into circles and triangles? Then he uses dark
colours to outline these shapes and make them look strong and bold."(p.9)
Meet the Group of Seven is a must-have for every school library and a fine book to give as a
present. It will provide hours and hours of enjoyment and education that will last a lifetime.
Teachers will find this a useful instructional tool for an art unit.
Highly Recommended.
Harriet Zaidman, a teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB., has marvelled at the beautiful Group of
Seven collections at the McMichael Collection in Kleinburg, ON, and the Art Gallery of Ontario
in Toronto. She has several Group of Seven reproductions hanging on her walls.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - March 31, 2000.
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I heard in passing once that the Group of Seven had been overexposed. But can there ever be too
much discussion and exposure of beautiful art that captures the vibrant colour and the beauty of
the Canadian landscape? As an undisguised Group of Seven fan, I think there can never be
enough. Although many of the scenes the Group of Seven painted have now been touched by
civilization, their work represents the spirit of Canada and stands out as a unique and preeminent
school of art. It is a national shame that the names of the Group are not known by every school
child, nor are their works appreciated at an early enough age through the school system.