Northern Lights - Masterpieces of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven [Hardcover]

Joan Murray (Compiler), Tom Thomson (Illustrator), Group of Seven (Illustrator), Franklin Carmichael (Illustrator), A.Y. Jackson (Illustrator), Arthur Lismer (Illustrator), Frederick Varley (Illustrator), et al (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

We are drawn immediately to their powerful, dramatic visions of a vast and austere land.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Group of Seven, contemporary Canadian art expert Joan Murray has chosen more than 125 works of art for inclusion in this volume, including some paintings never before seen by the public. (1994)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550135937
• ISBN-13: 978-1550135930
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #715,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Group of Seven's Greatest Hits, August 31, 2011

By 

Karl Janssen (Olathe, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Northern Lights - Masterpieces of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven (Hardcover)

Though little known south of the border, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven are widely considered Canada's greatest visual artists. Through their idiosyncratic blend of impressionism and fauvism, they produced stunning depictions of Canada's northern landscape and founded a uniquely Canadian school of art. Northern Lights provides a gorgeous overview of their illustrious careers.

This is first and foremost a coffee-table book, not a scholarly monograph nor an in-depth art historical treatise. The introductory essay is only five pages long. In it Joan Murray provides a nutshell summary of the Group of Seven for newcomers, while sprinkling it with enough new material not to bore the tears out of those already familiar with the plethora of existing books on the subject (many written by Murray herself). In compensation for the brief opener, the bulk of the book's text appears interspersed throughout the gallery of 118 color plates. Each pictured work is accompanied by a paragraph or few offering valuable context as to where, how, and why each painting was created. In general these entries are quite informative, though at times Murray has a tendency toward excessive psychological speculation, as in "The artist must have been thinking [insert thought here] as he was painting this." Really, must he?

The works pictured here for the most part represent a "greatest hits" collection of the Group's most famous paintings. You won't find much in the way of unusual departures, like Johnston's airplanes or Harris's Kandinskyesque abstractions. The masterpieces are arranged roughly in chronological order. Whenever possible, preliminary sketches are pictured alongside completed canvases, so you really get a good idea of the process behind the creation of these landmark paintings. Like many books on the Group of Seven, it stresses the work of the higher-profile "senior" members--Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, A.Y. Jackson, and Arthur Lismer--at the expense of the remaining "junior" members of the movement. I really like the work of some of the less-appreciated masters--Franklin Carmichael, Frank Johnston, A.J. Casson, and Edward Holgate in particular--so their scant representation here is a disappointment. I can't deny, however, that this is a fabulous collection of artwork reproduced beautifully in an elegantly designed package. Among the many Group of Seven books I've seen, I would rank this one second only to the mammoth volume by David P. Silcox that came out in 2006. Whether you're a Canadian who grew up amidst such masterpieces, or a foreigner who discovered them later in life (like me), Northern Lights will make a beloved addition to your art library.