The Group of 7 was founded by JEH MacDonald and Lawren Harris who met at the Arts & Letters club, which was a social mens club in downtown Toronto. MacDonald was working at a commercial art company at the time called Grip Printing & Publishing Ltd. along with Tom Thomson, Frederick H. Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael and Arthur Lismer.

Tom Thomson is commonly associated with the Group of 7 because of his close friendship with the group members and his influence on their painting style. He encouraged sketching trips to Algonquin Park and introduced the idea of painting “en plein air” where they created many small sketches before returning to their studio to create a large final painting.  

After the passing of Thomson in 1917 and the end of WWI, the five artists of Grip Ltd (Macdonald, Johnston, Varley, Lismer, and Carmichael), Lawren Harris and the new young Montreal artist A.Y Jackson, came together in 1920 to create a joint exhibition at the AGO calling themselves the Group of 7. 

By working, painting, and sometimes living together at the Studio Building, the Group of 7 encouraged each other’s artwork and those of their students. Through JEH Macdonald’s influence, many of the original members and their contemporaries chose to live in Thornhill for a period of time.  Remarkably, all of the houses where they lived are still standing. Today, we will be stopping at the homes of 5 of the original Group of 7 members along with a few of their contemporaries explaining who they were, their historical significance and the history of the building they inhabited.

This location, eventually known as “Four Elms” named for the Four Elms that stood near the house, became a mecca for visiting artists such as Tom Thompson.  J.E.H. painted “The Tangled Garden” at this location in 1916 which was one of his most controversial works. (more info in Artist Bio section).  Thoreau’s sundial may be seen in the bronze replica on the side of the house.  The original, of wood, is preserved at McMichael.  Thoreau designed the original logo for the Library on Colborne St and the wheatsheaf logo for the Thornhill Historical Society, 

Paintings Painted here:

A display of some of the paintings painted here are on display in the MacDonald house so if you get a chance do go take a look.  

The timber-frame feature you see today is a symbolic representation of the barn that formed the backdrop of The Tangled Garden.  Plant material identified from the painting , and subsequently supported by research of available plant material circa 1916: Orchard Apple Trees, Chrysanthemums, Delphiniums, Sunflower, Nicotina, Poppies, Asters and possibly Blackcurrant.  If you are interested to learn more about pollinator gardening do visit the Thornhill Garden and Horticultural Society.  More paintings are on display inside the J.E.H. MacDonald House. 

Frank Johnston was born in Toronto in 1888 and attended the Central Technical School and the Central Ontario School of Art. He continued his art education in Germany from 1904-1907 and in 1908, moved back to Toronto where he worked at Grip ltd. At Grip, he worked closely with JEH McDonald and Tom Thomson. 

In 1916, he rented the house at 14 John street. 

Along with working professionally with the other original members of the group, Johnston joined them on sketching trips to northern Ontario. Johnston was included in the formation of the group and the first exhibition in 1920 but unfortunately this show was not received well by critics and none of Johnston’s work sold. In 1922, after a successful solo show, Johnston decided to officially part ways from the group. 

Johnston moved on to teach at the Winnipeg School of Art, Ontario College of Art and directed a summer art school on Georgian Bay. He died in 1949 and is buried at the small cemetery on the grounds of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Arthur Lismer was born in Sheffield, England in 1885 and began his artistic career at a young age.  At 12 years old, Lismer received a 7-year scholarship to the Sheffield School of Art. Throughout the seven years he attended the art school he also apprenticed at the photo-engraving firm attached to the local paper. 

After graduating from art school and finishing his apprenticeship, he traveled to Antwerp Belgium to study at the Académie Royale Des Beaux-Arts. He traveled to Holland and France eventually returning home to Sheffield penniless and struggling to find work.  In 1911, he immigrated to Toronto where he found work as a commercial artist at Grip Ltd where he met McDonald, Carmichael, Johnston and Thomson. In 1912, he gave up his job as a commercial artist and became a free-lance illustrator. He sold his first painting to the Ontario Government in 1913. 

Lismer joined the group on sketching trips across northern Ontario and often drew cartoon sketches of different members of the Group. These cartoons allow us a peek into the personality of the different men and what they experienced on these trips. 

In 1916, Lismer rented 22 John where he painted My Garden Thornhill, Afternoon Sunlight: Thornhill Ontario and John Street , Thornhill.  Later, in 1934-1953, the house was owned by Thornhill historian Doris M. Fitzgerald and her husband. 

Lismer eventually traveled to Halifax to become principal of the Victoria School of Art and Design, now known as the Nova Scotia College of Art. He eventually returned to Toronto and taught at the Ontario College of Art. He died in 1969 and is buried in the small cemetery at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. 

Franklin Carmichael was born in Orillia in 1890. His art training began as a carriage painter in his father’s carriage making business.  When he was 21, he moved to Toronto to study at the Ontario College of art and worked as an office boy at Grip Ltd. At that time, JEH Macdonald was the senior editor at Grip working with Arthur Lismer, Frank Johnston, Fred Varley and Tom Thomson. 

In 1913,  Carmichael went to Antwerp to study at the Academie Des Beaux-Arts through the influence of Lismer and Varley as it was the same art school they attended.  Carmichael spent 9 months in Antwerp before the outbreak of WWI that caused him to move to England where he lived with family and friends for a time before eventually moving back to Toronto. 

When Carmichael returned to Toronto,  he rented 68 John Street with his new wife Ada,  in approx. 1916. Laura Weaver recalls neighbour George Billerman who lived at 86 John St. taking piano lessons from Mrs. Ada Carmichael. 

Unlike the other members of the Group, Carmichael stayed close to home when creating his art. He did not attend the long sketching trips like the rest of the group because of family obligations. Even still, he was greatly influenced by the other members of the group and shared a studio space with Tom Thomson. 

In 1932 until his death in 1945, Carmichael taught at the Ontario College of Art where he eventually became head of the Commercial and Graphic Art department. He died of a heart attack in 1945 and is buried in the small cemetery at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. 

Fred Varley was born in 1881 in Sheffield England and followed a similar path to Arthur Lismer who was born in the same town. At 11 years old, Varley enrolled in the Sheffield School of Art and went on to study at the Académie Des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp Belgium where he received two medals in drawing and painting.

Like Lismer, Varley had trouble finding work after returning to Sheffield. In 1912, Lismer returned to England to get married and told Varley about the opportunities for artists in Toronto. That year, Varley decided to immigrate to Canada where he soon got a job as a commercial artist at Grip Ltd. He went on to work at another commercial art firm Rous and Mann where met Tom Thomson and visited the Arts & Letters Club where he met other future members of the Group. 

In 1914, Varley was invited to paint in Algonquin Park along with Tom Thomson, Arthur Lismer and A.Y Jackson. He shared his colleagues' desire to break away from the norm and find a way of painting that is unique to Canada and the Algoma. Varley is a portrait artist at heart and commonly hides figures in his landscapes. 

In 1917, Varley rented 170 John street also known as the Pomona Mill house and lived there for a short time before going overseas in 1918. 

After serving as a war artist and moving back to toronto for a short time, Varley moved to Vancouver with his family to teach advanced drawing and painting at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts. He became close with a student named Vera Weatherbie who became a huge influence on him and his work.

He stayed on the west coast for 10 years before leaving his family and moving back to Toronto in 1957. He remained in Unionville until his death in 1969. Like the other members of the group, he is buried at the small cemetery at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The Varley Art Gallery was named after Federick Varley and opened in May 1997.

James Edward Hervey MacDonald was born in Durham England in 1873. His mother was English and his father was from St. Johns Quebec. His family immigrated to Canada in 1887 where they lived in Hamilton for 3 years before moving to Toronto in 1890/1891.

In 1895, he began working for Grip where he became head designer in 1907. During that time, other future Group of 7 members began to join the company such as Tom Thomson, in the same year, Arthur Lismer and Franklin Carmichael in 1911. 

In 1911, MacDonald was elected member of the Arts & Letters club and put on an exhibit of his oil sketches. This exhibit brought him great success being describe as a “refreshing absence of Europe” and inspiration that was distinctly Canadian. After the success of this exhibit, Lawren Harris and patron Dr. James MCCallum, encouraged MacDonald to shift from working full time as a commercial artist, to painting professionally. 

In 1912, he moved to Thornhill with his family where he rented 18 Centre street. 

In 1913, the owner of the house decided to live there so the MacDonald’s found a different place to live in Thornhill: 121 Centre street, which we will take a closer look at at the end of our tour. 

While living in Thornhill, MacDonald devoted more time to his painting and sketching around northern Ontario. Eventually, JEH gave up painting full time because of financial difficulties and accepted a teaching position at the Ontario College of Art , now known as OCAD. He acted as a teacher and a principal there from 1920 until his death of a stroke in 1932. 

After living at 18 Centre street, MacDonald and his family bought 121 Centre street in 1914. The lot included a 10 room clapboard house on a 4 acre lot with a forest of maple, spruce and elm trees with a running stream. He loved to garden and was able to continue this hobby at this beautiful home the family affectionately called 4 Elms. 

His love of the garden translated to one of his most famous works painted right here in the garden of 121 Centre street titled The Tangled Garden. MacDonald considered this painting one of his masterpieces and put a lot of thought and planning into its composition. He created two complete small oil sketches, a sunflower study, and numerous drawings before committing the piece to canvas in 1916. He charged $500 for the work, which was the highest amount he ever asked for until then. 

Unfortunately, the critics did not share the same feelings about this painting with the artist. The Tangled Garden received many negative reviews among critics who described it as “an incoherent mass of colour”. The art world was not ready for the vibrant use of colour and dramatic personal expression. In response to the harsh words of the critics, MacDonald wrote a letter that was published in the Toronto Globe titled Bouquets From a Tangled Garden that answered for himself and the new school of Canadian art. Despite his efforts to explain his work, The Tangled Garden remained unsold until it was donated to The National Gallery of Canada in 1939 where it found its permanent home to this day.  

4 Elms not only provided inspiration for the artists in the MacDonald family but for their friends as well. The MacDonalds often entertained James’ former colleagues including: Lismer, Varley, Carmichael, Johnston and Thomson. James son Thoreau recalls Tom Thomson often visiting Thornhill to work out project ideas with the help of his dad. Thoreau’s partner Yulia Buriukova, a portrait artist who immigrated to Canada during the Russian Revolution, lived in the house in the late 1930s and often sketched the grounds and people in the neighbourhood. 

After JEH MacDonald passed away, the house was passed on to his son Thoreau who was an artist in his own right. Him and his father would often paint and sketch in the barn behind the house.