Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
Good evening! It is my honour to guest host KTK this evening. Last time, I introduced you to some Canadian artists known as "The Group of Seven". Tonight, I am going to tell you about the man who greatly influenced them - Tom Thomson.
I hope that you will feel free to comment or just chat with us about whatever is on your mind.
Canada's most well known artist, Tom Thomson, was born in 1877 and died in 1917 under very mysterious circumstances ( more about that later). He was a major influence on the "Group of Seven", a well known group of Canadian artists who were inspired by his work and who went on to produce a great deal of beautiful art depicting the wild, sparse beauty of the Canadian landscape.
Tall and handsome, Thomson cut a dashing figure, though he was said to have been shy and humble. He fell in love with Algonquin Park after visiting it in 1912 and eventually moved into a small cabin on Canoe Lake where many of his most famous works, including "The Jack Pine" were done. The beauty of the park, as well as other parts of the Ontario wilderness inspired him.
He once said that he would be happy to get $10 or $15 for a sketch. Today, his works command over $2 million dollars. His friend, Arthur Lismer, a member of the Group of Seven wrote,
"Thomson sought the wilderness, never seeking to tame it,
but only to draw from it, its magic of tangle and season."
Tom Thomson disappeared while canoeing on Canoe Lake on July 8, 1917. When his body was found several days later he had a bruise on his head and fishing line wrapped around his foot. Understandably, there were many questions about his death, though the officials listed it as accidental drowning.
Over the years there have been many alternate theories about his death, including a fight with men who were living and possibly poaching there, and suicide over a woman who was pregnant with his child.
In September of 1917, friends built a stone cairn overlooking Canoe Lake at one of his favourite spots, a place where he loved to sit and paint the changing seasons. You can still see paint-scrapings he made while cleaning his brushes and palette on the rocks nearby. It is a simple pyramid of boulders, with a brass plate which reads:
TO THE MEMORY OF TOM THOMSON
ARTIST, WOODSMAN AND GUIDE
WHO WAS DROWNED IN CANOE LAKE JULY 8TH, 1917
HE LIVED HUMBLY BUT PASSIONATELY WITH THE WILD
IT MADE HIM BROTHER TO ALL UNTAMED THINGS OF NATURE
IT DREW HIM APART AND REVEALED ITSELF WONDERFULLY TO HIM
IT SENT HIM OUT FROM THE WOODS ONLY TO SHOW THESE REVELATIONS THROUGH HIS ART
AND IT TOOK HIM TO ITSELF AT LAST.
For more information on this fascinating man, please visit the following websites:
http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/...
https://www.google.ca/...
Many of his works can be seen here, with a lovely musical background:
And this is a trailer for a movie about him: