Tom Thomson

This distinguished painter was born in Claremont, Ontario, and grew up near Owen Sound. While working as a photo-engraver in Toronto, he met some of the artists who later formed the Group of Seven. They encouraged him to pursue a career in art and he, in turn, introduced them to the north country and exercised a profound influence on their work. From 1912, Thomson visited Algonquin Park where the colours and moods captured his imagination. Before his death on this lake he had developed a bold new way of depicting our wilderness and had given Canadians a unique artistic heritage. Many of his greatest works were inspired within a few miles of this site.

Né a Claremont, Thomson grandit près de Owen Sound. Il était artisan photograveur à Toronto quand certains artistes, reconnaissant en lui un artiste-né, l’encouragèrent à dessiner et à peindre. Après 1912, émerveillé par les paysages sauvages du nord de l’Ontario, Thomson fréquenta le Parc Algonquin. A sa mort, sur ce lac, il avait développé un nouvel art du paysage et laissait une oeuvre typiquement canadienne, de haute valeur artistique, qui eut une grande influence sur le célèbre Groupe des Sept. Plusieurs de ses toiles les plus connues ont été inspirées par les sites environnants.