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Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven Paperback – October 11, 2011

by Ross King (Author)

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Beginning in 1912, Defiant Spirits traces the artistic development of Tom Thomson and the future members of the Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley, over a dozen years in Canadian history. Working in an eclectic and sometimes controversial blend of modernist styles, they produced what an English critic celebrated in the 1920s as the “most vital group of paintings” of the 20th century. Inspired by Cézanne, Van Gogh and other modernist artists, they tried to interpret the Ontario landscape in light of the strategies of the international avant-garde. Based after 1914 in the purpose-built Studio Building for Canadian Art, the young artists embarked on what Lawren Harris called “an all-engrossing adventure”: travelling north into the anadian Shield and forging a style of painting appropriate to what they regarded as the unique features of Canada’s northern landscape.

Sumptuously illustrated, rigorously researched and drawn from archival documents and letters, Defiant Spirits constitutes a “group biography,” reconstructing the men’s aspirations, frustrations and achievements. It details not only the lives of Tom Thomson and the members of the Group of Seven but also the political and social history of Canada during a time when art exhibitions were venues for debates about Canadian national identity and cultural worth.

Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven

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Editorial Reviews

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"King's book does an excellent job of exploring the roles of these visionary individuals in the shaping of an artistic cultural identity."—Publishers Weekly

"King’s writing is characterized by clarity, compassion, and humanist intelligence. …we feel we’ve actually met these individuals—the goal of any good biography."—Library Journal

"[Defiant Spirits] is a paradigm shift. With his usual spirited prose and faultless research, King makes internationalists out of the Group of Seven"—Canadian Art

About the Author

Ross King is the author of three previous best-selling art history books, including Brunelleschi's Dome, which won the 2001 Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Adult Nonfiction and The Judgment of Paris, winner of the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction in Canada. He lives in England, near Oxford.

Paperback: 504 pages
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre; Reprint edition (October 11, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1553658825
ISBN-13: 978-1553658825
Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 6.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #227 in Books > History > Americas > Canada > Province & Local
- #252 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Canadian
- #2873 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Artists, Architects & Photographers

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Superb, enlightening, art history at its finest

ByJohn E. DruryVINE VOICEon January 7, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Ross King's well-received "The Judgment of Paris" convinced me that his 2010 book on Canada's "Group of Seven" would be informative and enlightening. I was right. King, apparently Canadian, details the emergence of the group pre-World War One, its struggle for recognition in a Canada, dominated by English art criticism and sensibilities, in an art world hostile to Canadian nationalism, and, finally post War, its acceptance in Canada as an artistic group worthy of museum wall space. The first part of the book deals primarily with Tom Thomson, his eccentric spirit, individuality, devotion to the backwoods, his extraordinary painting achievements and his untimely death by drowning in 1917. Though not the group's leader, the generous and supportive Lawren Harris, an artist of extraordinary scope and development, occupied that spot, Thomson's artistic force was - indeed - the group's focal point before and after his death. King adeptly juggles the separate lives of each of the seven actual members (J.E.H. MacDonald, F. H. Varley, Frank Johnston, A. Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frank Carmichael) and his thirty six (36) exquisite color plates acquaints the reader to the art of each. The group was intrinsically tied to the War and its aftermath; as King writes "they wanted to prove to the wider world; not merely Canadians, that Canadian art was modern, vital and unique - that Canada . . . could produce artists as well as soldiers."

This review coincides with the closing of an exhibition of the Group of Seven called "Painting Canada" at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection near Toronto. I look forward to buying the book "Painting Canada" as soon as it is sold.

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Defiant Spirits Kindle Version

ByBarry Edward Morrisonon January 5, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This review is for the kindle version. This format does not have any illustrations of the works discussed, no pictures at all! This is most unusual for an ART book and the reason for the lower rating.

The text generally ,is well written, although I found the author likes to use, here in this particular book, multi-syllabic, obscure words that had me frequently accessing a dictionary. This was frustrating because I have enjoyed the author's previous books (hard copy) and found them informative, insightful and enjoyable. Most of the detail of the text is in the pre-first show, pre-1920 period. After that the information becomes sketchier. Perhaps he didn't consider the artists defiant anymore. Admittedly, including this later period and following up on their lives and art from the 1930s on would have made the book much longer. Perhaps a sequel volume would work.

I did enjoy his documentation of the artists' formative years in Europe and during World War 1. His analysis of social and political cultures of the time were most enlightening and much needed as context..

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Nice insight

ByJohn Berryon April 10, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Loved reading this book. It took an excellent viewpoint, the Groups modernism and what they were trying to accomplish with their work and their writings.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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