Group of Seven Centennial

By Michaela Campbell and Svenja Hansen

Though the members met and began travelling and painting together seven years earlier, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Group of Seven, a school of landscape painters officially active from 1920 to 1933. Over the course of five decades, members of this group and their contemporaries visited and painted landscapes across Canada, including the northern shore of Lake Superior.

The driving force behind pushing beyond the Algoma region to the Superior north shore was Lawren Harris; with Jackson accompanying him on his first trip, and Carmichael, Lismer, and Casson on subsequent outings over the next eight years. A.Y. Jackson painted in the Wawa and Pukaskwa areas as late as 1960!

This year, Parks Canada will once again be offering its popular Paint Night program at Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area. Every Sunday at the Terrace Bay Beach, and every Friday at the Nipigon Marina, one of our guides will tell fascinating stories of Lake Superior and the Group of Seven, who have inspired generations of artists.  They will also guide you through making your very own painting, from a blank canvas to a beautiful north shore of Lake Superior masterpiece, for you to take home!

Parks Canada also participates in the Moments of Algoma program, which has marked key locations where members of the Group of Seven painted with interpretive panels. One such panel is located on Horseshoe Beach in Pukaskwa National Park, with others in Terrace Bay, Rossport, and Nipigon.

Commemorate the Group of Seven anniversary with us by participating in one of the above mentioned programs in 2020!

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