View source for Biography:Tom Thomson

{{Use Canadian English|date=August 2018}}
{{short description|Influential Canadian 20th-century painter (1877–1917)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Tom Thomson
| image            = TomThomson23.jpg
| image_size       =
| alt              =
| caption          = Thomson, {{circa|lk=no}} 1910–1917
| birth_name       = Thomas John Thomson
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1877|8|5}}
| birth_place      = Claremont, Ontario, {{wipe|Canada}}
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1917|7|8|1877|8|5}}
| death_place      = Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada
| resting_place    = Leith United Church Cemetery, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|44.62|-80.88|type:landmark_region:FR|format=dms|display=inline|name=Leith United Church Cemetery}}
| nationality      = Canadian
| education        = [[Social:Autodidacticism|Self-taught]]{{efn|group=note|Thomson may have briefly studied under British artist William Cruikshank around 1905.<ref name="Cruikshank">{{plainlist|
* {{harvp|Murray|1986|p=6}}
* {{harvp|Reid|2002a|pp=52, 70, 113, 309, 324n21, 329n18}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|Town|1977|p=235}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9], 100}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|Town|2017|p=43}}}}</ref> It is also possible that he read [[Biography:John Ruskin|John Ruskin]]'s 1857 handbook, ''The Elements of Drawing'', while learning to draw.{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=2}} Besides these instances though, it is clear that he had no other art instruction.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}} For more regarding the public's perception of Thomson's instruction, refer to [[Biography:Death and legacy of Tom Thomson#An "untainted" artist|Death and legacy of Tom Thomson § An "untainted" artist]].}}
| known_for        = Painting
| notable_works    = {{plainlist}}
* ''Northern River'' (1914–15)
* ''Spring Ice'' (1915–16)
* ''The Jack Pine'' (1916–17)
* ''The West Wind'' (1916–17)
| movement         = {{flatlist}}
* Art Nouveau
* Arts and Crafts
* Group of Seven{{efn|group=note|Though he died before the Group of Seven's founding in 1920, Thomson's connection to the artists and the art they created is unquestionable.{{sfnb|Waddington|Waddington|2016|p=29}} In his 1964 book, ''The Story of the Group of Seven'', Lawren Harris would write, {{quote|I have, in my story of the Group, included Tom Thomson as a working member, although the name of the group did not originate until after his death. Tom Thomson was, nevertheless, as vital to the movement, as much a part of its formation and development, as any other member.{{sfnb|Harris|1964|p=7}}}}}}
{{Endflatlist}}
| awards           = <!-- {{awd|award|year|title|role|name}} (optional) -->
| website          = <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} -->
}}
[[File:The Jack Pine, by Tom Thomson.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''The Jack Pine'', Winter 1916–17. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]
[[File:Thomson, Study for Northern River.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''Study for Northern River'', Winter 1914–15. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto]]

'''Thomas John Thomson''' (August 5, 1877{{spaced ndash}}July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist of the early 20th century. Over the course of his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels along with around fifty larger works on canvas. They consist almost entirely of landscapes, depicting trees, skies, lakes, rivers and other nature scenes. His painting utilizes broad brush strokes and a liberal application of paint to capture the stark beauty and vibrant colour of the Ontario landscape. Thomson's accidental death at 39 by drowning came just prior to the founding of the Group of Seven and was seen by his contemporaries as a tragedy of Canadian art.

Raised in rural Ontario, Thomson was born into a large family of farmers and did not display any immediate artistic talent. He worked several jobs through family connections before attending a business college, eventually developing rudimentary penmanship abilities. At the turn of the 20th century, he worked in Seattle and Toronto as a pen artist at several different photoengraving firms, including Grip Ltd.. There, he met those who would eventually form the Group of Seven, including J. E. H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Frederick Varley, Franklin Carmichael and Arthur Lismer. In May 1912, Thomson visited Algonquin Park for the first time. It was there that he acquired his first sketching equipment and, following the advice of MacDonald, began to capture nature scenes. He became enraptured with the area and would consistently return, typically spending his winters in Toronto and the rest of the year in the Park. While his earliest paintings were not outstanding technically, they illustrated an above average ability regarding [[Composition (visual arts)|composition]] and colour handling. Through his development his later paintings vary in composition and have vivid colours and thickly applied paint. Thomson's later work has had a great influence on Canadian art—paintings such as ''The Jack Pine'' and ''The West Wind'' have taken a prominent place in the culture of Canada and are some of the country's most iconic pieces of art.

Thomson developed a reputation during his lifetime as a veritable outdoorsman, talented in both fishing and canoeing, though his talents in the latter have been contested. The tragic circumstances of Thomson's drowning on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park linked with his image as a master canoeist has resulted in his death entering into the popular imagination. The circumstances surrounding his death have been of particular interest to many, with unsubstantiated rumours that he was murdered or committed suicide becoming common and persisting in the years since his death.

Though he died before the formal establishment of the Group of Seven, Thomson is often considered an unofficial member with his art typically being exhibited with the rest of the Group's. Nearly all of Thomson's work is located in Canada, mainly at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the National Gallery of Canada in [[Place:Ottawa|Ottawa]], the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound.

==Life==

[[File:Young Tom Thomson.jpg|thumb|Portrait of a young Tom Thomson, date unknown]]

===Early years===
Thomas John "Tom" Thomson was born on August 5, 1877 in Claremont, Ontario, {{wipe|Canada}}. He grew up in a large family, the sixth of John and Margaret Thomson's ten children.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#boyhood-years 4]}} Thomson was raised in Leith, Ontario, near Owen Sound, in the Municipality of Meaford.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}} Thomson and his siblings enjoyed both drawing and painting, though he did not immediately display any major talents.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#boyhood-years 4]}} He was eventually taken out of school for a year due to ill health, sometimes said to a respiratory issue variously described as "weak lungs" or "inflammatory rheumatism."{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}}{{sfnb|MacDonald|1917|p=47}} This gave him free time to explore the woods near his home and develop an appreciation for nature.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#boyhood-years 4]}} The Thomson family were unsuccessful as farmers, with Thomson and his father often abandoning their chores to instead go hiking, hunting and fishing.{{sfnb|Murray|1998|pp=14–15, 22–25}} Thomson would also regularly go on walks with Dr. William Brodie (1831–1909), his grandmother's first cousin (though the Thomson family referred to him simply as "uncle").{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/significance-and-critical-issues/#the-artist-and-nature 57]}}{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=5}} Brodie was a well known [[Biology:Entomology|entomologist]], [[Biology:Ornithology|ornithologist]] and [[Biology:Botany|botanist]], and Thomson's sister Margaret would later recount that they collected specimens on long walks together.{{sfnb|Murray|1999|pp=6–7}}{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=93}}{{efn|group=note|William Brodie was a member of the Royal Canadian Institute, curator of the Ontario Provincial Museum and provincial [[Biology:Entomology|entomologist]] from 1903 until his death in 1909.{{sfnb|Murray|1998|pp=15–17, 43, 45, 49, 56, 87}} The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' would report that, "By 1900 Brodie's biological collections ranked among the finest on the continent, and contained 100,000 specimens of Ontario [[Earth:Flora|flora]] and [[Earth:Fauna|fauna]]. [...] He rejected the traditional emphasis on [[Biology:Morphology|morphology]] in favour of a greater focus on [[Earth:Ecology|ecology]], the relation of living things to their environment."{{sfnb|Zeller|1994|pp=112–14}} He was also known to have been a mentor to [[Earth:Natural history|naturalist]] Ernest Thompson Seton.{{sfnb|Wadland|1978}}}} Thomson was also enthusiastic about sports, breaking his toe at one point while playing football.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}} He was an excellent swimmer and fisherman, developing his passion for the latter from his grandfather and father.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}} Like most of those in his community, he regularly attended church. Some stories say that he would sketch in the hymn books during services and would entertain his sisters with caricatures of their neighbours. His sisters would later say that they had fun "guessing who they were," indicating that he was not necessarily adept at capturing people's likeness.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}}

All of Thomson's nine siblings received an inheritance from their paternal grandfather.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}} Thomson would receive his in 1898 getting $2000 in total, though he seems to have spent it all relatively quickly.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}} A year later, he entered a machine shop apprenticeship at an iron foundry owned by William Kennedy, a close friend of his father, but left only eight months later.{{sfnb|Reid|2002a|pp=50, 86, 113}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 6]}} Also in 1899, he volunteered to fight in the [[History:Second Boer War|Second Boer War]], but was turned down because of a medical condition.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|pp=107–108}} He would attempt to enlist for the Boer War three times total, but was denied each time.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}}

In 1901, Thomson enrolled at Canada Business College in Chatham, Ontario. The school advertised instruction in stenography, [[Finance:Bookkeeping|bookkeeping]], business correspondence and "plain and ornamental penmanship."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}} There, he developed rudimentary penmanship abilities.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=50}} After graduating at the end of 1901, he would travel briefly to Winnipeg before leaving for Seattle in January 1902, joining his older brother, George Thomson.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}}{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=50}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=42}} George and cousin F. R. McLaren had established the Acme Business School in Seattle, listed as being the eleventh largest business school in the United States.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}}{{sfnb|Murray|1971|p=9}} Thomson worked briefly as an elevator operator at the Diller Hotel. By 1902, two more of Thomson's brothers, Ralph and Henry, had moved west to join the family's new school.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 6]}}

===Graphic design work===

[[File:Tom Thomson Study of a Woman's Head, Seattle.jpg|thumb|left|''Study of a Woman's Head, Seattle'', {{circa|lk=no|1903}}. Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound]]

====Seattle (1901–04)====
After studying at the business school for six months total, Thomson was hired at Maring & Ladd as a pen artist, [[Engineering:Drafter|draftsman]] and [[Chemistry:Etching|etcher]].{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}}{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=50}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 7]}} He mainly produced business cards, brochures and posters, as well as [[CMYK color model|three colour printing]].{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=50}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 7]}} Having previously learned calligraphy, he specialized in lettering, drawing and painting.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 7]}} Thomson was known to be stubborn while working at Maring and Ladd, with his brother Fraser Thomson writing that instead "of his doing the work according to the instructions given by Mr. Maring he would invariably work out the design to suit his own ideas which would make Mr. Maring angry..."{{sfnb|Thomson|1930}} Thomson may have also worked as a freelance commercial designer, but there are no extant examples of such work to confirm these suspicions.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=51}}

He eventually moved on to a local engraving company. Despite the fact that he was being paid well, he left by the end of 1904, quickly returning to Leith. Thomson's quick move was possibly due to a rejected marriage proposal following his brief summer romance with Alice Elinor Lambert.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=52}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 7]}} Lambert never married and later became a writer. In one of her stories, she describes a young girl who refused a proposal from an artist and went on to regret her decision.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#early-adult-years 7]}}

====Toronto (1905–12)====
Thomson moved to Toronto in the summer of 1905.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=92}} His first job upon his return was at the photo-engraving firm Legg Brothers, earning $11 a week.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=52}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 7]}} He spent his free time reading poetry, as well as going to concerts, the theatre and sporting events.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=127}} In a letter to an aunt, he would write, "I love poetry best."{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=viii}} Friends described him during this time as "periodically erratic and sensitive, with fits of unreasonable despondency."{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 7]}}

Around this period, he may have briefly studied with William Cruikshank, a British artist who taught at the Ontario College of Art (today the Ontario College of Art and Design).<ref name="Cruikshank"/> Cruikshank was likely Thomson's only art instructor.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}}

[[File:Profile of the painter Tom Thomson wearing a hat.jpg|thumb|Profile of Thomson wearing a suit and hat, {{circa|lk=no|1910}}. During this time, Thomson was known to dress well and spend his money on nice clothes and fine dining.]]

In 1908 or 1909, Thomson joined Grip Ltd., an artistic design firm in Toronto specializing in design and lettering work.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113}}{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=50}}{{efn|group=note|Sources disagree on the approximate time of Thomson being hired. Grip supervisor Albert H. Robson wrote in 1932 that he was hired in 1907,{{sfnb|Robson|1932|p=138}} but by 1937 Robson was instead writing that he was hired in 1908.{{sfnb|Robson|1937|p=5}} Robert Stacey has suggested December 1908.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=50}} David Silcox has suggested the beginning of 1909.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}} Art historian Joan Murray has suggested December 1908 or January 1909.{{sfnb|Murray|2002b|p=310}} In curator Charles Hill's investigation, he noted that Thomson is listed in the ''Toronto City Directory'' for 1906–09 as working with Legg Bros. Photo Engravers, in 1910 merely as an artist living at 99 Gerrard E., and in 1911 as being at Grip Ltd. Hill supposes that this means Thomson likely began at Grip in late 1909, after the information for the 1910 directory was collected.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=113n16}}}} Grip was the leading graphic design company in the country and would introduce Art Nouveau, metal engraving and the [[CMYK color model|four-colour process]] to Canada.{{sfnb|King|2010|p=14}} Albert Robson, then the art director at Grip, recalled that when he first hired Thomson, "his samples consisted mostly of lettering and decorative designs applied to booklet covers and some labels."{{sfnb|Robson|1932|p=138}}{{sfnb|Rossell|c. 1951|p=3}} He would write as well that Thomson made friends slowly, though he eventually found similar interests to his coworkers.{{sfnb|Robson|1937|p=6}} Several of the employees at Grip had previously been a part of the Toronto Art Student's League, a group of newspaper artists, illustrators and commercial artists which ran from 1886 through 1904.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=115}} The members of the group would sketch in parts of eastern Canada and would publish an annual calendar with illustrations depicting themes of Canadian history and rural life.{{sfnb|Stacey|1998|p=96n9}}

The senior artist at Grip, J. E. H. MacDonald, encouraged his staff to paint outside in their spare time to better hone their skills.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=58}}{{sfnb|Rossell|c. 1951|p=1}} In December 1910, artist William Smithson Broadhead was hired, soon joined by Arthur Lismer in February 1911.{{sfnb|Tooby|1991}} Robson would eventually hire Frederick Varley, followed by Franklin Carmichael in April 1911.{{sfnb|Murray|2002b|p=310}}{{sfnb|Murray|2004|p=16}} Though Thomson was not himself a member,{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=117}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9n2]}} it was at The Arts and Letters Club that MacDonald would introduce Thomson to Lawren Harris.{{sfnb|Murray|2004|p=16}} The club was considered the "centre of living culture in Toronto," providing an informal environment for the artistic community.{{sfnb|Reid|1970|p=28}} Every member of what would come to be the original Group of Seven had now met.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}} MacDonald would leave Grip in November 1911 to do freelance work and spend more time painting,{{sfnb|Stacey|Bishop|1996|p=118}} likely the result of the Ontario Government purchasing his canvas ''By the River (Early Spring)''.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=114}}{{sfnb|Bayer|1981|p=52}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Thomson, Portrait of an Old Lake Captain.jpg|''Portrait of an Old Lake Captain'', {{circa|lk=no|1906}}. Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton
File:Tom Thomson Design for a Stained Glass Window.jpg|''Design for a Stained Glass Window'', {{circa|lk=no}} 1905–08. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Thomson, Quotation from Maurice Maeterlinck.jpg|''Decorative Landscape: Quotation from Maurice Maeterlinck'', {{circa|lk=no|1908}}. Ink on paper. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Thomson, A Blessing by Robert Burns.jpg|''Decorative Illustration: "Blessing" by Robert Burns'', 1909. Watercolour, graphite and ink on paper. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Thomson, View from the Windows of Grip Ltd.jpg|''View from the Windows of Grip Ltd.'', {{circa|lk=no}} 1908–10. Private collection
</gallery>

===Painting career===
====Exploring Algonquin Park (1912–13)====
[[Image:Tom Thomson.jpg|thumb|Thomson fishing in Algonquin Park, {{circa|lk=no}} 1914–16. Thomson was enamoured with the park and many of his works were painted in the area.]]
Thomson learned of Algonquin Park after hearing about it from fellow artist Tom McLean.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=118}}{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=94}} He would first visit the Park in May 1912, venturing through the area on a canoe trip with his Grip colleague H. B. (Ben) Jackson.<ref>{{plainlist|
* {{harvp|Hunter|2002|p=25}}
* {{harvp|Klages|2016|p=21}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|2006|p=20}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 10]}}
* {{harvp|Stacey|2002|p=57}}}}</ref> Together, they took the Grand Trunk Railway from Toronto to Scotia Junction, then transferred to the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, arriving at Canoe Lake Station.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=94}} McLean introduced Thomson to the Park superintendent, G. W. Barlett, and later met ranger Harry (Bud) Callighen while the two camped nearby on Smoke Lake.{{sfnb|Northway|1970|p=6}}{{sfnb|Addison|1974|p=75}}{{sfnb|Davies|1935|pp=35–36}} It was also at this time that, according to Jackson, Thomson acquired his first sketching equipment.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=118}} Thomson did not yet take painting seriously however, with Jackson saying that Thomson did not think painting "would ever be taken seriously; in fact, he used to chuckle over the idea." Instead, they would spend most of their time fishing,{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|pp=25–26}} except for "a few notes, skylines and colour effects."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=118}}{{sfnb|Jackson|1931b}}

During the same trip, Thomson began to read Izaak Walton's 1653 fishing guide, ''The Compleat Angler''.{{sfnb|Jackson|1930}} Beyond being a fisherman's bible, the book provided a philosophy of how to live, similar to the one illustrated in [[Biography:Henry David Thoreau|Henry David Thoreau]]'s 1854 book, ''[[Philosophy:Walden|Walden, or Life in the Woods]]'', a reflection upon [[Finance:Simple living|simple living]] in natural surroundings.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=26}} Thomson's time in Algonquin park provided him an ideal setting to imitate Walton's "contemplative" life.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=27}} Ben Jackson would write of Thomson's character:

{{quote|Tom was never understood by lots of people, was very quiet, modest and, as a friend of mine spoke of him, a gentle soul. He cared nothing for social life, but with one or two companions on a sketching and fishing trip with his pipe and Hudson Bay tobacco going, he was a delightful companion. If a party or the boys got a little loud or rough Tom would get his sketching kit and wander off alone. At time he liked to be that way, wanted to be by himself commune with nature.{{sfnb|Jackson|1930}}{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=27}}}}

Once back in Toronto, Jackson would publish an article about his and Thomson's experience in the Park in the ''Toronto Sunday World'', included in which were several illustrations.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=118}}{{sfnb|Jackson|1912}} After this initial experience, Thomson and another colleague, William Broadhead, went on a two month expedition, going up the Spanish River and into Mississagi Forest Reserve (today Mississagi Provincial Park).{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=27}} Thomson's transition from commercial art towards his original style of painting began to be apparent around this time.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 10]}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=23}} Much of his artwork from this trip, mainly oil sketches and photographs, has been lost due to two canoe spills experienced during the trip,{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 10]}} the first spill being on Green Lake in a rain [[Earth:Squall|squall]] and the second in a series of rapids.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=119}}{{efn|group=note|Thomson would write in a letter to his friend M. J. (John) McRuer: {{quote|We started in at Bisco and took a long trip on the lakes around there going up the Spanish River and over into the Mississauga <nowiki>[</nowiki>Mississagi<nowiki>]</nowiki> water we got a great many good snapshots of game—mostly moose and some sketches, ''but'' we had a dump in the forty-mile rapids which is near the end of our trip and lost most of our stuff—we only saved 2 rolls of film out of about 14 dozen. Outside of that we had a peach of a time as the Mississauga is considered the finest canoe trip in the world.{{sfnb|Thomson|1912}}{{sfnb|Murray|2002a|p=297}}}}}}

In fall 1912, Robson moved to the design firm Rous & Mann.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}} A month after returning to Toronto, Thomson left Grip to join Rous & Mann,{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=95}} following Robson.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=58}}{{sfnb|Klages|2016|p=23}} They would soon to be joined by Varley, Carmichael and Lismer.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=119}} Robson would later speak favourably of Thomson's loyalty, calling him, "a most diligent, reliable and capable craftsman."{{sfnb|Robson|1932|p=138}} Robson's success in attracting great talent was well understood.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=57-58}} Employee Leonard Rossell believed that the key to Robson's success "was that the artists felt that he was interested in them personally and did all he could to further their progress. Those who worked there were all allowed time off to pursue their studies... Tom Thomson, so far as a I know, never took definite lessons from anyone, yet he progressed quicker than any of us. But what he did was probably of more advantage to him. He took several months off in the summer and spent them in Algonquin Park."{{sfnb|Rossell|c. 1951|p=3}}

In October, Thomson was introduced to Dr. James MacCallum in MacDonald's studio.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=119}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1918|p=375}} MacCallum was a frequent visitor of the Ontario Society of Artists's (OSA) exhibitions and was admitted to the Arts and Letters Club in January 1912. It was there where he would meet artists such as John William Beatty, Arthur Heming, MacDonald and Harris.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=119}} MacCallum would eventually persuade Thomson to leave Rous and Mann and start a painting career.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=95}} In October 1913, MacCallum introduced Thomson to A. Y. Jackson, another eventual member of the Group of Seven.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=122}}

MacCallum recognized Thomson and Jackson's talents and offered to cover their expenses for one year if they committed themselves to painting full time.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=21}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 11]}} MacCallum and Jackson both encouraged Thomson to "take up painting seriously, [but] he showed no enthusiasm. The chances of earning a livelihood by it did not appear to him promising. He was sensitive and independent, and feared he might become an object of patronage."{{sfnb|Jackson|1933b}} MacCallum wrote that when he first saw Thomson's sketches, he recognized their "truthfulness, their feeling and their sympathy with the grim fascinating northland... they made me feel that the North had gripped Thomson as it had gripped me since I was eleven when I first sailed and paddled through its silent places." He would further write that Thomson's paintings were "dark, muddy in colour, tight and not wanting in technical defects."{{sfnb|MacCallum|1918|p=376}} After Thomson's death, MacCallum would work to preserve and advocate for Thomson's work.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 11]}}

Thomson accepted MacCallum's offer under the same terms offered to Jackson and decided to leave commercial art for the year.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=122}} Thomson traveled around Ontario with his colleagues, especially to the wilderness of Ontario, which was to be a major source of inspiration for him. Regarding Algonquin Park, he would write in a letter to MacCallum that, "The best I can do does not do the place much justice in the way of beauty."{{sfnb|Thomson|1914b}} He ventured to rural areas near Toronto and attempted to capture the surrounding nature. Thomson may have worked as a fire ranger on the Mattagami reserve.{{sfnb|Murray|2002b|p=312}} Addison and Little have suggested that he guided fishing tours.{{sfnb|Addison|1974|p=18}}{{sfnb|Little|1970|p=13}} Hill has found this unlikely since Thomson had only been in the park for a few weeks in the previous year.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=121}} He became as familiar with logging scenes as with nature in the park and painted them both.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/significance-and-critical-issues/#the-artist-and-nature 58]}}

While returning to Toronto in November 1912, Thomson stopped in Huntsville.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=121}}{{sfnb|Addison|1974|pp=25–26}} The visit was possibly to meet with Winfred Trainor, a woman whose family owned a cottage on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. Trainor was later rumoured to have been engaged to Thomson for a marriage in the fall of 1917, though there is little information available regarding their relationship.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#thomsons-early-paintings 12]}}{{efn|group=note|For more regarding Thomson's possible romantic relationship with Trainor, refer to {{harvp|MacGregor|2010}}.}}

[[File:Tom Thomson, Northern Lake.jpg|thumb|''Northern Lake'', Winter 1912–13. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto]]

Thomson first exhibited with the OSA in March 1913, selling his painting ''Northern Lake'' (1912–13) to the Ontario Government for $250 ({{Inflation|CA|250|1914|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=CAD$}}) during the exhibition.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=120}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#painting-full-time 12]}} The sale afforded him time to paint and spend his time sketching through the summer and fall of 1913.{{sfnb|Stacey|2002|p=60}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Tom Thomson Mississagi.jpg|''Mississagi'', 1912. Private collection
File:Thomson, The Canoe.jpg|''The Canoe'', Spring or fall 1912. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Thomson, Old Lumber Dam, Algonquin Park.jpg|''Old Lumber Dam, Algonquin Park'', Spring 1912. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
File:Thomson, Evening 1913.jpg|''Evening'', Fall 1913. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Thomson Northland Sunset 1913.jpg|''Northland Sunset'', Summer or fall 1913. Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound
</gallery>

====Early recognition (1914–15)====

[[File:The Studio Building 2, Toronto, Canada.jpg|thumb|left|The Studio Building in Toronto, where Thomson lived and worked from January 1914 through November 1915.]]

Thomson often experienced self-doubt, with A. Y. Jackson recalling that in the fall of 1914, Thomson threw his sketch box into the woods out of frustration,{{sfnb|Davies|1935|pp=74–75}}{{sfnb|Jackson|1958|p=31}} and was "so shy he could hardly be induced to show his sketches."{{sfnb|Jackson|1917}} Often, if someone praised one of his sketches, he would immediately give it them as a gift.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=117}} A turning point in Thomson's career came in 1914, when the National Gallery of Canada under the directorship of Eric Brown began acquiring his paintings. Though the money he made from the sales was not enough for him to live on, the recognition it provided him was unheard of for an unknown artist such as himself.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#a-startling-debut 13]}}

For several years he shared a studio and living quarters with fellow artists, initially living in the Studio Building with Jackson in January 1914. Jackson described the Studio Building as "a lively centre for new ideas, experiments, discussions, plans for the future and visions of an art inspired by the Canadian countryside."{{sfnb|Jackson|1958|p=27}} It was there that "Thomson, after much self-deprecation, finally submitted to becoming a full-time artist."{{sfnb|Jackson|1933a|p=138}} They split the rent—$22 a month ({{Inflation|CA|22|1914|fmt=eq|r=-1|cursign=CAD$}})—on the ground floor while construction on the rest of the building was finished.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=127}} After Jackson moved out in December to go to {{wipe|Montreal}}, Carmichael took his place.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=127}}{{sfnb|Murray|2006|p=17}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=128}} They would share a studio space through the winter.{{sfnb|Klages|2016|p=207}}{{sfnb|King|2010|pp=154–59}} On March 3, 1914, Thomson was nominated to be a member of OSA by Lismer and T. G. Greene. He was elected fully on the 17th.{{sfnb|Ontario Society of Artists|1914}} He did not participate in any of their activities however, beyond sending paintings for annual exhibitions.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=117}} Thomson had strange working hours, with Harris describing them years later:


[[File:Tom Thomson with fish.jpg|thumb|Thomson with his catch at Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, {{circa|lk=no|1915}}]]

In late April 1914, Thomson arrived in Algonquin Park, soon joined by Lismer who arrived on May 9. Together, they camped on Molly's Island in Smoke Lake, travelling to several different lakes, including Canoe, Smoke, Ragged, Crown and Wolf Lake.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=124}} Thomson spent his spring and summer divided between Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park, visiting James MacCallum by canoe. His travels during this time have proved difficult to discern, with such a great amount of ground covered in such a short time, painting the French River, Byng Inlet, Parry Sound and Go-Home Bay from May 24 through August 10.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=105}} H. A. Callighen, a park ranger, wrote in his journal that Thomson and Lismer left Algonquin Park on May 24.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=125}} By May 30, Thomson was at Parry Sound and on June 1 he was camping at the French River with MacCallum.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=125}}{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=105n70}}

Art historian Joan Murray notes that Thomson would be at Go-Home Bay for the next two months, or at least until August 10 when he is seen in Algonquin Park again by Callighan.{{sfnb|Murray|2002b|p=313}} Wadland has expressed that if this timeline is correct, it would require "an extraordinary canoeist [...] especially on the open water of Georgian Bay, from the mouth of the French to Go-Home Bay (and back again). The difficulty is augmented by the fact of stopping to sketch at intervals along the way."{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=105n70}} Wadland has suggested that Thomson may have traveled via train at some points, with a station connecting Algonquin Park and Parry Sound, boarding a [[Engineering:Steamship|steamship]] thereafter.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=105}} Addison and Harwood would instead say, "In the summer of 1914 Thomson paid a visit to Georgian Bay where Dr. MacCallum had a summer home. He traveled to Lake Nipissing via South River by lake, stream and portage, crossed the lake and paddled down the French River. Although he did a number of sketches at this time, he found much of the country inland monotonously flat and the rapids ordinary. In August he returned to Algonquin Park."{{sfnb|Addison|Harwood|1969|p=32}} Wadland has found this characterization unhelpful, pointing out that the rapids Thomson would have faced were hardly "ordinary."{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=105n70}} Jim & Sue Waddington described his route as taking him down the Magnetawan River near Algonquin Park, into Georgian Bay near Britt and then south.{{sfnb|Waddington|Waddington|2016|p=112}}

[[File:Tom Thomson Cottage on a Rocky Shore.jpg|thumb|left|''Cottage on a Rocky Shore'', Summer 1914. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]

MacCallum provided specific dates for two of Thomson's paintings— May 30 and June 1 for ''[[:File:Tom Thomson Parry Sound Harbour.jpg|Parry Sound Harbour]]'' and ''[[:File:Tom Thomson Spring, French River.jpg|Spring, French River]]'', respectively.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=125}}{{sfnb|Murray|2004|p=108}} These are some of the only instances of precise dating for Thomson's work.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|pp=125–26}} In addition, ''Cottage on a Rocky Shore'' is a depiction of MacCallum's cottage contrasted with the vast expanse of sky and water. ''[[:File:Tom Thomson Evening, Pine Island.jpg|Evening, Pine Island]]'' is of a nearby island MacCallum took Thomson to visit.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=126}} MacCallum would write, "I had planned to take him up to the North West Wooded Pine where there is a tree that had always inspired me. [...] [W]e were late in getting started, so that instead I had to take him to the South West Wooded Pine—an island of granite about a quarter of a mile in length by 100 yards wide and say 50 feet high."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=126}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1939}} Thomson continued to paint around the islands until he departed, likely because he found MacCallum's cottage too demanding socially, writing to Varley that it was "too much like north Rosedale."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=126}}{{sfnb|Thomson|1914a}}{{sfnb|Waddington|Waddington|2016|p=131}}

Thomson continued canoeing alone until he met with A. Y. Jackson at Canoe Lake in mid-September. Though [[Social:World War I|World War I]] had erupted that year, Thomson and Jackson went on a canoe trip, in October meeting up with Varley and his wife Maud, as well as Lismer and his wife and daughter, Esther and Marjorie.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=126}} This marked the first time three Group of Seven members painted together, and the only time they worked with Thomson.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=23}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#a-startling-debut 13]}} In his 1958 autobiography, ''A Painter's Country'', A. Y. Jackson would write that, "Had it not been for the war, the Group [of Seven] would have formed several years earlier and it would have included Thomson."{{sfnb|Jackson|1958|pp=53–54}} Why Thomson did not serve in the war is a matter of debate.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=40}} Robinson and Thomson's family would say that he was turned down after multiple attempts to enlist in the army, likely due to his poor health and age but also possibly because he had [[Medicine:Flat feet|flat feet]].{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=41}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|pp=107–08}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#a-startling-debut 13]}} Blodwen Davies wrote that Thomson's artist friends tried to convince him to not risk his life, but he decided to secretly volunteer anyway.{{sfnb|Davies|1930a|pp=29–31}} Andrew Hunter has found this scenario to be unlikely, especially given that other artist friends ''did'' volunteer for the war, such as A. Y. Jackson.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=40}} Thomson's sister suggested that he was a pacifist and that "he hated war and said simply in 1914 that he never would kill anyone but would like to help in a hospital, if accepted."{{sfnb|Thomson|1956|pp=21–24}} William Colgate wrote that Thomson "brooded much upon" the war and that "he himself did not enlist. Rumour has it that he tried, and failed to pass the doctor. This is doubtful."{{sfnb|Colgate|1946|p=15}} Edward Godin, a companion, said "We had many discussions on the war. As I remember it he did not think that Canada should be involved. He was very outspoken in his opposition to Government patronage. Especially in the Militia. I do not think that we would offer himself for service. I know up until that time he had not tried to enlist."{{sfnb|Godin|1931}} There is only one verifiable example of Thomson's opinion on the war, taken from a letter he wrote to J. E. H. MacDonald in 1915:

{{quote|As with yourself, I can't get used to the idea of [A. Y.] Jackson being in the machine and it is rotten that in this so-called civilized age that such things can exist, but since this war has started it will have to go on until one side wins out, and of course there is no doubt which side it will be, and we will see Jackson back on the job once more.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=41}}{{sfnb|Thomson|1915a}}}}

[[File:Thomson, In Algonquin Park.jpg|thumb|''In Algonquin Park'', Winter 1914–15. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg]]

With MacCallum's year of financial support over, Thomson's financial future was uncertain.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=128}} Thomson would briefly look into putting in an application to be a park ranger, but balked after seeing that it could take months for the application to go through. Instead, he considered working in an engraving shop for a few months over the winter.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=126}}{{sfnb|Thomson|1914b}} He made little effort to sell his paintings, preferring to give them away, though he brought in some money from the paintings he sold.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#gathering-momentum 14]}} In mid-November, Thomson donated ''In Algonquin Park'' to an exhibition organized to raise money for the Canadian Patriotic Fund. It was sold to Marion Long for $50 ({{Inflation|CA|50|1914|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=CAD$}}).{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=128}}

In the spring of 1915, Thomson returned to Algonquin Park earlier than he had in any previous year and had already painted twenty-eight sketches by April 22. From April through July, he spent much of his time fishing, assisting groups on several different lakes. He would spend much of his summer travelling across the province, hunting and sketching.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=131}} In July, he was invited to send paintings to the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition in September.{{sfnb|Thomson|1915a}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=133}} Because Thomson was in Algonquin Park, his friends selected three works to send—two unidentified works from 1914 and the sketch ''Canadian Wildflowers''.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=133}}{{sfnb|Thomson|1915b}} From the end of September to mid-October, Thomson spent his time at Mowat,{{sfnb|Little|1955|p=205}} a village on the north end of Canoe Lake.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=102}} By November, he was at Round Lake with Tom Wattie and Dr. Robert McComb.{{sfnb|Ghent|1949}}{{sfnb|Addison|Harwood|1969|p=46}} In late November, Thomson returned to Toronto and moved into a shack behind the Studio Building that Harris and MacCallum fixed up for him,{{sfnb|Addison|Harwood|1969|p=84}}{{sfnb|Little|1970|p=179}} renting it for $1 a month ({{Inflation|CA|1|1915|fmt=eq|r=0|cursign=CAD$}}).{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#painting-full-time 13]}}{{efn|group=note|In his 1959 piece, "My Memories of Tom Thomson," Thoreau MacDonald (son of J. E. H. MacDonald) cited November 1915 as when Thomson moved into the shack behind the Studio Building.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=132n119}} Most sources agree with this, including Charles Hill,{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=132}} William Little{{sfnb|Little|1970|p=179}} and Addison & Harwood.{{sfnb|Addison|Harwood|1969|p=84}} David Silcox has written that the move happened in either late 1914{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=127}} or early 1915.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=127}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#painting-full-time 12–13]}}}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Tom Thomson Canoe Lake Spring 1914.jpg|''Canoe Lake'', Spring 1914. Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound
File:Tom Thomson Smoke Lake.jpg|''Smoke Lake'', Summer 1915. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Thomson, Fire-Swept Hills.jpg|''Fire-Swept Hills'', Summer or fall 1915. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson Autumn Foliage.jpg|''Autumn Foliage'', Fall or winter 1915. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson, Spring Ice.jpg|''Spring Ice'', Winter 1915–16. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
</gallery>

====Artistic peak (1916–17)====

[[File:Tom Thomson In the Northland.jpg|thumb|left|''In the Northland'', Winter 1915–1916.{{efn|group=note|''In the Northland'' was originally titled ''The Birches''.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=136}} All of Thomson's canvases from the winter of 1916–17 were titled after his death.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=139}}}} Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, {{wipe|Montreal}}]]

In 1915, MacCallum commissioned MacDonald, Lismer and Thomson to paint decorative panels for his cottage on Go-Home Bay. In October of that year, MacDonald went up to take dimensions.{{sfnb|Landry|1990|p=26}} Thomson produced four panels which were probably meant to go over the windows. In April 1916, when MacDonald and Lismer went to install them, they found that MacDonald's measurements were incorrect and the panels would not fit.{{sfnb|Reid|1970|p=93}}{{sfnb|Stacey|1996|p=119}}{{efn|group=note|MacDonald's measurements were 44½ × 37", but the panels installed were 27 × 37". The panels Thomson produced were 47½ × 38".{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=136n134}}{{sfnb|Reid|1969|pp=49, 69}}}} In March, Thomson exhibited four canvases with the OSA: ''In the Northland'' (at that time, titled ''The Birches''), ''Spring Ice'', ''Moonlight'' and ''October'' (then titled ''The Hardwoods''), all of which were painted over the winter of 1915–16. Sir Edmund Walker and Eric Brown of the National Gallery of Canada wanted to purchase ''In the Northland'', but Montreal trustee Dr. Francis Shepherd convinced them to instead purchase ''Spring Ice.''{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=136}} Reception to Thomson's paintings at this time were mixed. Margaret Fairbairn of the ''Toronto Daily Star'' would write, "Mr. Tom Thomson's 'The Birches' and 'The Hardwoods' show a fondness for intense yellows and orange and strong blue, altogether a fearless use of violent colour which can scarcely be called pleasing, and yet which seems an exaggeration of a truthful feeling that time will temper."{{sfnb|Fairbairn|1916}} A more favourable take came from artist Wyly Grier in ''The Christian Science Monitor'': {{quote|Tom Thomson again reveals his capacity to be modern and remain individual. His early pictures—in which the quality of naivete had all the genuineness of the effort of the tyro and was not the counterfeit of it which is so much in evidence in the intensely rejuvenated works of the highly sophisticated—showed the faculty for affectionate and truthful record by a receptive eye and faithful hand; but his work today has reached higher levels of technical accomplishment. His ''Moonlight'', ''Spring Ice'' and ''The Birches'' are among his best.{{sfnb|Grier|1916}}}} In ''The Canadian Courier'', painter Estelle Kerr would similarly speak positively, describing Thomson as "one of the most promising of Canadian painters who follows the impressionist movement and his work reveals himself to be a fine colourist, a clever technician, and a truthful interpreter of the north land in its various aspects.{{sfnb|Kerr|1916|p=13}}

In 1916, Thomson left for Algonquin Park earlier than any previous year, evidenced by the large number of snow studies he produced at this time.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=137}} In April or early May, MacCallum, Harris and his cousin Chester Harris joined Thomson at Cauchon Lake for a canoe trip.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=137}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#at-full-speed 16]}} After MacCallum and Chester left, Harris and Thomson paddled together to Aura Lee Lake.{{sfnb|Reid|1970|p=126}}{{efn|group=note|Upon Harris' return to Toronto he would enlist in the army. He received his Canadian Officers' Training Corps certificate on May 5 and was appointed lieutenant to the 10th Royal Grenadiers on June 12.{{sfnb|Reid|1970|p=126}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=137n145}} He initially taught [[Engineering:Musket|musket]]ry at Camp Borden.{{sfnb|Roza|1997|p=26n24}} In May 1918 he was discharged after suffering a nervous breakdown.{{sfnb|Roza|1997|p=26n24}}{{sfnb|Murray|2006|p=52}}}} Thomson produced many sketches which varied in composition, though they all had vivid colour and were applied thickly.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#at-full-speed 16]}} MacCallum was present when Thomson painted his ''Sketch for "The Jack Pine"'', writing, "It may interest you to know that the deocrative pine in the foreground was blown down on Thomson just before he had finished the original sketch."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=137}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1921a}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1921b}} He would go on to add that Harris thought the tree killed Thomson, "but he sprang up and continued painting."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=137}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1937a}}

[[File:Thomson, Tea Lake Dam.jpg|thumb|''Tea Lake Dam'', Summer 1917. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg]]

In the end of May Thomson took a job as a fire ranger stationed at Achray on Grand Lake with Ed Godin. He followed the Booth Lumber Company's drive down the Petawawa River to the north end of the park.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|pp=137–38}} Thomson painted a sign, "Out-Side-In" on wood, for Godin's cabin.{{sfnb|Reid|2002b|p=82}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=138}}{{sfnb|Addison|1974|p=126}} He found that fire ranging and painting did not mix well together,{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=138}} writing, "[I] have done very little sketching this summer as the two jobs don't fit in... When we are travelling two go together, one for canoe and the other the pack. And there's no place for a sketch outfit when your {{sic}} fire ranging. We are not fired yet but I am hoping to get put off right away.{{sfnb|Thomson|1916}} He likely returned to Toronto in late October or early November.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=138}} Over the following winter, encouragement from Harris, MacDonald and MacCallum saw Thomson move into the most productive portion of his career,{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=20}} writing in a letter that he "got quite a lot done."{{sfnb|Thomson|1917b}} Despite this, he did not submit any paintings to the OSA exhibition in the spring of 1917.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=139}} It was during this time that he produced many of what would become his most famous works, including ''The Jack Pine'' and ''The West Wind''.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#at-full-speed 17]}} Dr. MacCallum suggested that several canvas works were unfinished, including ''Woodland Waterfall'', ''The Pointers'' and ''The Drive''.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=139}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1918|pp=375–85}} Barker Fairely similarly described ''The West Wind'' as being unfinished.{{sfnb|Fairley|1920|p=246}} Charles Hill has written that there are no reasons to believe ''Woodland Waterfall'' was unfinished.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=139}} Similarly while it has sometimes been suggested that ''The Drive'' was modified after Thomson's death{{sfnb|Forsey|1975|p=188}} a reproduction from 1918 displays no discernible differences.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|pp=140, 140n167}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1918|p=380}}

Thomson returned to Canoe Lake at the beginning of April, arriving early enough to paint the remaining snow and the ice breaking up on the surrounding lakes. He had little money to live but wrote that he could manage for around a year. On April 28, 1917 he received a guide's licence. Unlike previous years, he remained at Mowat with Lieutenant Crombine and his wife Daphne.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=141}} Thomson let Mrs. Crombie select a sketch as a gift from his spring sketches and she selected ''[[:File:Thomson, Path Behind Mowat Lodge.jpg|Path Behind Mowat Lodge]]''.{{sfnb|Little|1955|pp=205–06}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="5">
File:Tom Thomson - A Northern Lake - Google Art Project.jpg|''A Northern Lake'', Spring 1916. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson Petawawa Gorges.jpg|''Petawawa Gorges'', Fall 1916. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Tom Thomson Snow in the Woods.jpg|''Snow in the Woods'', Fall 1916. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Tom Thomson The Pointers.jpg|''The Pointers'', Winter 1916–17. Hart House, [[Organization:University of Toronto|University of Toronto]]
File:Tom Thomson Woodland Waterfall.jpg|''Woodland Waterfall'', Winter 1916–17. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
</gallery>

===Death===
{{main|Biography:Death and legacy of Tom Thomson}}
On July 8, 1917, Thomson disappeared during a canoeing trip on Canoe Lake.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=49}} His upturned canoe was spotted later in the afternoon, while his body was discovered in the lake eight days later.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=49}}{{sfnb|Fraser|1917b}} Independent examinations of the body by a doctor and a [[Social:Coroner|coroner]] revealed that the cause of death was drowning, and in particular that it was accidental.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=49}}{{sfnb|Howland|1917}}{{sfnb|Ranney|1931}} The day after the body was discovered, it was interred in Mowat Cemetery near Canoe Lake.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=49}}{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=142}}{{sfnb|Robinson|1917}}{{efn|group=note|Mowat Cemetery was located at {{coord|45|33|47|N|78|43|42|W|name=Mowat Cemetery}}.}} Under the direction of Thomson's older brother George, the body was exhumed two days later and re-interred in the family plot beside the Leith Presbyterian Church on July 21 in what is now the Municipality of Meaford.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=142}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=49–50}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.meaford.ca/tourism/plan-trip-meaford/what-to-do/heritage-arts-culture/175-historic-leith-church.html|title=Historic Leith Church|last=|first=|date=|website=www.meaford.ca|language=en-gb|access-date=January 16, 2018}}</ref>

==Art and technique==

===Artistic development===


[[File:Tom Thomson, Northern River.jpg|thumb|''Northern River'', Winter 1914–15. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]
Thomson was largely self-taught. He was employed as a [[Graphic designer|graphic designer]] with Toronto's Grip Ltd., an experience which honed his draughtsmanship.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#graphic-design-in-toronto 9]}} Although he began painting and drawing at an early age, it was only in 1912, when Thomson was well into his thirties, that he began to paint seriously.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 10]}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=23}} His first trips to Algonquin Park inspired him to follow the lead of fellow artists in producing oil sketches of natural scenes on small, rectangular panels for easy portability while travelling. Between 1912 and his death in 1917, Thomson produced hundreds of these small sketches, many of which are now considered works in their own right, and are housed in such galleries as the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=181}}

[[File:Tom Thomson, Northern Lights.jpg|thumb|left|''Northern Lights'', Spring 1917. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]
{{Quote box|width=20em|align=right|quote="The intimate charm with which he endows his waste of rock and swamp, friezes of spruce, the slim birch which clings to the meagre soil on the rocks, are but an expression of his love for the country."|source=—A. Y. Jackson, 1919{{sfnb|Jackson|1919}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=211}}}}

Thomson peaked creatively between 1914 and 1917. He was aided by the [[Social:Patronage|patronage]] of Toronto physician James MacCallum, who enabled Thomson's transition from graphic designer to professional painter.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=21}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/biography/#discovering-algonquin-park 11]}} Although the Group of Seven was not founded until after Thomson's death, his work is sympathetic to that of group members A. Y. Jackson, Frederick Varley, and Arthur Lismer. These artists shared an appreciation for rugged, unkempt natural scenery, and all used broad brush strokes and a liberal application of paint to capture the stark beauty and vibrant colour of the Ontario landscape.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/autumn-algonquin-park 40]}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=140}} Thomson's art also bears some stylistic resemblance to the work of [[Earth:Europe|Europe]]an post-impressionists such as Vincent van Gogh, whose work he may have known from books or visits to art galleries.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/pine-trees-at-sunset 30], [https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/the-west-wind 48]}} Other key influences were the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, styles with which he would have been familiar from his work in the graphic arts.<ref>{{plainlist|
* {{harvp|Hill|2002|p=113}}
* {{harvp|Murray|1999|p=7}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/burns-blessing 22], [https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/the-west-wind 47], [https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/style-and-technique/#diverse-influences 68], [https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/style-and-technique/#commercial-art 71]}}
* {{harvp|Silcox|Town|2017|pp=94, 210}}}}</ref>

The artwork of Thomson is typically divided into two bodies: the first is made up of the small oil sketches on wood panels, of which there are around 400, and the second is of around fifty larger works on canvas.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=181}} The smaller sketches were typically done in the style of en plein air in "the North," primarily Algonquin Park, in the spring, summer and fall.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/significance-and-critical-issues/#canvases-versus-oil-sketches 59–60]}} The larger canvases were instead completed over the winter in Thomson's studio—an old utility shack with a wood-burning stove on the grounds of the Studio Building, an artist's enclave in Rosedale, Toronto.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=127}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|pp=181–85}}{{sfnb|Brown|1998|pp=151, 158}} A dozen or so of the major canvases were directly derived from smaller sketches. Indeed, paintings like ''Northern River'', ''Spring Ice'', ''The Jack Pine'' and ''The West Wind'' were only later expanded into larger oil paintings.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=181}} While the sketches were produced quickly, the canvases were developed over weeks or even months. Because of this, they display an "inherent formality," with the transition from small to large requiring a reinvention or elaboration of the original details.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|pp=181–82}} Comparing sketches with their respective canvases allows one to see the changes Thomson made in colour, detail and background textural patterns.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=182}}{{sfnb|Murray|2006|p=92}} Although Thomson sold few of the larger paintings during his lifetime, they formed the basis of posthumous exhibitions, including one at Wembley in London, that eventually brought international attention to his work.{{sfnb|Dejardin|2011}}

Described as having an "idiosyncratic palette," Thomson's control of colour was exceptional.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/style-and-technique/#an-idiosyncratic-palette 72–73]}} He often mixed available pigments to create unusual, new colours making his distinctive palette along with his brushwork instantly recognizable regardless of the subject of his work.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/style-and-technique/#an-idiosyncratic-palette 73]}} His painting style and the atmosphere, colours and forms of his work directly inspired the work of his colleagues, particularly Jackson, Lismer, MacDonald and Harris.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=212}} Mark Robinson would later recount that Thomson usually had a particular motif he wanted to depict before going into nature to find a comparison.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|pp=133–34}}{{sfnb|Davies|1935|pp=108–09}}{{sfnb|Little|1970|pp=187–89}}

===Series and themes===
====Trees====
[[File:Tom Thomson - The West Wind - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''The West Wind'', Winter 1916–17. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto]]
Thomson's most famous paintings are his depictions of pine trees, particularly ''The Jack Pine'' and ''The West Wind''. David Silcox has described these paintings as, "the visual equivalent of a national anthem, for they have come to represent the spirit of the whole country, notwithstanding the fact that vast tracts of Canada have no pine trees,"{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=50}} and, "so majestic and memorable that nearly everyone knows them."{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=19}} Arthur Lismer would describe things similarly, saying that the tree in ''The West Wind'' was a symbol of the Canadian character, unyielding to the wind and emblematic of steadfastness and resolution.{{sfnb|Lismer|1934|pp=163–64}}{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=114}}

Thomson had a great enthusiasm for trees and worked to capture their forms, the effect of the seasons upon them and the surrounding context of their location. He normally depicted trees as amalgamated masses, giving them "form structure and colour by dragging paint in bold strokes over an underlying tone."{{sfnb|MacCallum|1918|pp=379–80}} His favourite motif was of a slight hill next to a body of water.{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=8}} The enthusiasm he had is especially apparent in an anecdote from Ernest Freure, who invited Thomson to camp on an island on Georgian Bay with him:{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=v}}

{{quote|One day while we were together on my island, I was talking to Tom about my plans for cleaning up the dead wood and trees and I said I was going to cut down all the trees but he said, "No, don't do that, they are beautiful."{{sfnb|Freure|1935}}}}

The theme of the single tree is a common one in Art Nouveau, though Thomson may also have been heavily influenced by the work of MacDonald while working at Grip Limited. MacDonald was likely influenced by the landscape art of John Constable, whose work he would have seen while in England from 1903 to 1906.{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=7}} Thomson's earlier paintings were closer to literal renderings of the trees in front of him, while as he progressed they became more expressive with individual characteristics amplified.{{sfnb|Murray|1999|p=15}} The painting ''Byng Inlet, Georgian Bay'' is an example of the broken, high-keyed colour Thomson and his colleagues were experimenting with during that time, and is similar to Lismer's ''Sunglow''. While Lismer only applied the technique to the water, Thomson applied it over the entire composition.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=129}}

According to MacCallum, the painting ''Pine Island, Georgian Bay'' was worked on over an extended period.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=129}} He would write specifically that this painting had "more emotion and feeling than any other of [Thomson's] canvases."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=129}}{{sfnb|MacCallum|1938}} In contrast, MacDonald found it "rather commonplace in color & composition & not representative of Thomson at his best."{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=129n106}}{{sfnb|MacDonald|1921}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="165px">
File:Thomson, Byng Inlet, Georgian Bay - winter 1914-1915 - MM 1977.31.jpg|''Byng Inlet, Georgian Bay'', Winter 1914-1915. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Tom Thomson, Pine Trees at Sunset.jpg|''Pine Trees at Sunset'', Summer 1915. Private collection, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson - Pine Island, Georgian Bay.jpg|''Pine Island, Georgian Bay'', Winter 1914–16. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
File:Tom Thomson The Birch Grove, Autumn.jpg|''The Birch Grove, Autumn'', Winter 1915–16. Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton
File:Thomson, Pine Cleft Rocks.jpg|thumb|''Pine Cleft Rocks'', Spring 1916. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
</gallery>

====Skies====
[[File:Thomson, Sunset.jpg|thumb|''Sunset'', Summer 1915. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]
Thomson was preoccupied with capturing the sky, especially near the end of his career from 1915 onward. Paintings like ''Sunset''—which was painted at water level in a canoe—illustrate his excited brushstrokes in capturing the lakes reflection.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/sunset 27]}} The painting was done over a grey-green ground, adding depth to both the light on the sky and the reflecting water.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=132}} Paintings from 1913 and on consistently utilize the perspective of the canoe, with a narrow foreground of water, a distant shoreline and a dominating sky.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=211}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/sunset 28]}}

The [[Earth:Lassen Peak#1914–1921|1915 volcanic eruption]] of [[Earth:Lassen Peak|Lassen Peak]] in {{wipe|California}} provided dramatic sunrises and sunsets in the northern hemisphere for the year. These skies provided artistic inspiration for Thomson and other artists in the same way that the [[Earth:1883 eruption of Krakatoa|eruption of Krakatoa]] in the previous century had inspired painter Edvard Munch.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/sunset 28]}}{{sfnb|King|2010|p=182}} Sky effects would be one of Thomson's main interests for the entire year, indicated by his heightened use of colour.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=132}}

Harold Town has compared ''Sky (The Light That Never Was)'' to the works of J. M. W. Turner. In particular, he notes the way that the sky "[creeps] into the landscape, big rhythms supplanting small movement." The horizon disappears and pure movement is left behind.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=58}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="165px">
File:Thomson, Sky (The Light that Never Was).jpg|''Sky (The Light that Never Was)'', Summer 1913. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
File:Tom Thomson Sketch for Morning Cloud.jpg|''Sketch for Morning Cloud'', Fall 1913. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson Summer Day.jpg|''Summer Day'', Summer 1915. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Tom Thomson Round Lake, Mud Bay.jpg|''Round Lake, Mud Bay'', Fall 1915. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson Burned Over Land.jpg|''Burned Over Land'', Spring 1916. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
</gallery>

====Nocturnes====
[[File:Tom Thomson Moose at Night.jpg|thumb|''Moose at Night'', Winter 1916. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]
Thomson produced more nocturnes than the rest of the Group of Seven combined—roughly two dozen.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/nocturne-forest-spires 38]}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=221}} MacCallum would recall that Thomson would often spend his nights laying in his canoe in the middle of the lake, [[Astronomy:Amateur astronomy|stargazing]] and avoiding mosquitoes.{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/nocturne-forest-spires 38]}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|pp=221, 236}} Besides capturing the nighttime sky, he also captured silhouettes of spruce and birch trees, lumber camps, two moose emerging from water and the northern lights, painting five different sketches of the [[Astronomy:Aurora|aurora]].{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=221}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|pp=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/nocturne-forest-spires 37–38]}} Park ranger Mark Robinson would later recount that Thomson would stand and contemplate the aurora for an extended period of time before going back into a cabin, painting by lamplight.{{sfnb|Little|1970|p=198}}  Given the difficulty of painting by only moonlight, most if not all of Thomson's noctures were painted from memory. MacCallum confirmed this with the sketch ''Moose at Night'', writing on the back "Winter 1916—at studio,"{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=141}} likely implying it was painted in Toronto.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=134n127}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="165px">
File:Thomson, Moonlight 1913-14.jpg|''Moonlight'', Winter 1913–14. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
File:Thomson, Moonlight.jpg|''Moonlight'', Fall 1915. Private collection, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson Nocturne.jpg|''Nocturne'', Fall 1915. Vancouver Art Gallery, {{wipe|Vancouver}}
File:Tom Thomson Silver Birches.jpg|''Silver Birches'', Winter 1915–16. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Tom Thomson Northern Lights.jpg|''Northern Lights'', Spring 1917. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
</gallery>

====Flowers====
[[File:Tom Thomson, Wildflowers.jpg|thumb|''Wildflowers'', Summer 1915. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg]]
As was typical for early twentieth century painting, Thomson produced still lifes of flowers. These paintings, especially ''Marguerites, Wood Lillies and Vetch'' and ''Wildflowers'', are particularly powerful examples of the genre.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=75}} In these paintings, he redirected emphasis from the delicacy of the flowers towards simple broad strokes of colour, something Harold Town thought "[imparted] a toughness of design sometimes missing in his harder themes of rock and bracken."{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=96}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="165px">
File:Tom Thomson Wild Flowers.jpg|''Wild Flowers'', Summer 1915. Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound
File:Thomson, Water Flowers.jpg|''Water Flowers'', Summer 1915. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Tom Thomson, Marguerites, Wood Lillies and Vetch.jpg|''Marguerites, Wood Lillies and Vetch'', Summer 1915. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson, Canadian Wildflowers.jpg|''Canadian Wildflower'', Summer 1915. National Gallery on Canada, Ottawa
File:Thomson, Moccasin Flower.jpg|''Moccasin Flower (Orchids, Algonquin Park)'', Spring 1916. private collection
</gallery>

====Industry in nature====
[[File:Tom Thomson, Lumber Dam, 1915.jpg|thumb|''Lumber Dam'', Summer 1915. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa]]
During Thomson's time in Algonquin Park, logging and the lumber industry were a constant presence.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=30}}{{efn|group=note|For more regarding the industrialization of Algonquin Park, refer to: {{bulleted list|{{harvp|Edwards|1976}}|{{harvp|Lloyd|2000}}|{{harvp|McKenna|1976}}}}}} He often painted the machinery left behind by lumber companies, with Lismer, MacDonald and himself being especially drawn to the subject. A. Y. Jackson would write, {{quote|It was a ragged country; a lumber company had slashed it up, and fire had run through it... Thomson was much indebted to the lumber companies. They had built dams and log chutes, and had made clearings for camps. But for them, the landscape would have been just bush, difficult to travel in and with nothing to paint.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=211}}{{sfnb|Jackson|1958}}{{sfnb|Sloan|2010|pp=70–71}}}}

Besides the dams, [[Engineering:Pointer boat|pointers]], [[Engineering:Alligator boat|alligators]] and drives depicted in Thomson's work, other less obvious depictions of the lumber industry were depicted. For example, areas cleared out due to logging appear in early sketches, such as ''[[:File:Tom Thomson Canoe Lake.jpg|Canoe Lake]]'' (1913) and ''[[:File:Tom Thomson Red Forest.jpg|Red Forest]]''. The painting ''Drowned Land'' similarly displays the damage caused by logging operations and flooding due to damming.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=95}} As well, the white birches present in many paintings only thrive in "sunny, open areas whose previous tree cover had been removed,"{{sfnb|Strickland|1996|p=19}} meaning that logging was in some way necessary for them to flourish.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=30}}

Around 1916, Thomson followed the drive of logs down the Madawaska River, painting the subject in ''The Drive''. MacDonald similarly expressed the drive in his 1915 painting ''[[:File:JEH MacDonald Logs on the Gatineau.jpg|Logs on the Gatineau]]''.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|pp=211, 255–56}}

Thomson's and the other artist's work is absent of criticism for the typical Canadian attitudes of the time, namely that the available natural resources were meant to be exploited.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|pp=210–11}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=72}} Harold Town has argued that, while Thomson and the other artists were not critical of industry, mining and logging, they did not glorify these issues and they took a relatively low profile within the art produced.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=72}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2015|p=[https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/significance-and-critical-issues/#the-artist-and-nature 58]}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="165px">
File:Thomson, Drowned Land.jpg|''Drowned Land'', Fall 1912. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Tom Thomson Crib and Rapids.jpg|''Crub and Rapids'', Fall 1915. Private collection, Calgary
File:Tom Thomson Bateaux.jpg|''Bateaux'', Summer 1916. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson, Sandbank with Logs, 1916.jpg|''Sandbank with Logs'', Fall 1916. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson, The Drive, 1916-1917.jpg|thumb|''The Drive'', Winter 1916–17. University of Guelph Collection, Art Gallery of Guelph, Guelph
</gallery>

====People====
[[File:Thomson, Fisherman - winter 1916-1917 - EdA 68.6.84.jpg|thumb|right|''The Fisherman'', Winter 1916–17. Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton]]
Thomson, like most of the members of the Group of Seven, rarely painted people.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=32}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=76}}{{efn|group=note|Notable exceptions to this are Frederick Varley and Frank Johnston, with Varley's main interest being people, faces and figures.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=76}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=124}} At the beginning of his career, Lawren Harris captured people in nearly all of his depictions of Toronto and did several portraits, but later moved on to only depicting landscapes. Edwin Holgate painted the female figure and completed several nudes.{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=76}}}} Harold Town would remark that both Thomson and Canadian artist David Milne "shared in common a similar inability to draw the human figure,"{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|1977|p=26}} something professor John Wadland thought was "embarrassingly evident" in several of Thomson's portraits.{{sfnb|Wadland|2002|p=95}} Town would go on to describe paintings like ''Man with Axe (Lowery Dixon) Splitting Wood'' as stiff, yet still held together in a cohesive crudity. He described ''Figure of a Lady, Laura'' differently, writing that it was a tender work that is "well-designed and plainly expressed, this loving picture is so secure in intention that it survives, indeed triumphs, over the severe cracking of the paint."{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=124}} Thomson's most successful attempts at capturing people typically feature figures far off in the distance, allowing them to blend in to the scene. This is apparent in paintings like ''Little Cauchon Lake'', ''Bateaux'', ''The Drive'', ''The Pointers'' and ''Tea Lake Dam''.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=32}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="165px">
File:Thomson, Man with Axe - fall 1915 - AGO L83.15.jpg|''Man with Axe (Lowery Dickson) Splitting Wood'', Fall 1915. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Thomson, Figure of a Lady, Laura - fall 1915 - MM 1983.18.jpg|''Figure of a Lady, Laura'', Fall 1915. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
File:Thomson, In the Sugar Bush (Shannon Fraser) - spring 1916 - AGO 53-17.jpg|''In the Sugar Bush (Shannon Fraser)'', Spring 1916. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Tom Thomson Poacher.jpg|''The Poacher'', Spring 1916. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
File:Thomson, Little Cauchon Lake - spring 1916 - NGC 4681.jpg|''Little Cauchon Lake'', Spring 1916. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
</gallery>

==Legacy and influence==
{{main|Biography:Death and legacy of Tom Thomson}}

[[Image:Tom Thomson Memorial Cairn.jpg|thumb|The Tom Thomson Memorial Cairn, Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park]]

Since his death, Thomson's work has grown in value and popularity. Scholar Sherrill Grace has written that Thomson is a "haunting presence" for Canadian artists and that he "embodies the Canadian artistic identity."{{sfnb|Grace|2004a|p=96}} Group of Seven member Arthur Lismer would similarly write that "Tom Thomson is the manifestation of the Canadian character."{{sfnb|Lismer|1934|pp=163–64}}

In September 1917, J. E. H. MacDonald and John William Beatty erected a memorial cairn at Hayhurst Point on Canoe Lake, to honour Thomson where he died.{{sfnb|Hill|2002|p=142}}{{sfnb|Silcox|2006|p=213}}{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=240}} In the summer of 2004 another historical marker honouring Thomson was moved from its previous location nearer the centre of Leith to the graveyard in which Thomson is now buried.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heritagemeaford.com/heritage-church.php?mid=1|title=Leith United Church {{!}} Heritage Meaford|website=www.heritagemeaford.com|access-date=January 16, 2018}}</ref> In 1967, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery opened in Owen Sound.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tom Thomson Art Gallery|url=https://www.tomthomson.org/|publisher=City of Owen Sound}}</ref> Many of his works are also on display at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. Thomson's influence can be seen in the work of later Canadian artists, including Emily Carr, Goodridge Roberts, Harold Town, and Joyce Wieland.{{sfnb|Stanners|2017}}

[[File:Tom Thomson, standing on a rock fishing in moving water.jpg|thumb|left|Thomson fishing at Tea Lake Dam in Algonquin Park, {{circa|lk=no|1915}}]]

===The outdoorsman===

Though he is most known for his painting, Thomson is often mythologized as a veritable outdoorsman.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=236}} Dr. James MacCallum would contribute stories to this image.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=236}} Thomson has often been remembered as an expert canoeist, though David Silcox has argued that this image is likely romanticized.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=237}} In the case of fishing however, Thomson was no doubt proficient. He had a deep love of fishing for his entire life, so much so that his reputation through Algonquin Park was equally divided between art and angling.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=28}} While most who visited the Park were led by hired guides, Thomson moved through on his own. Indeed, many of his fishing locations appear in his work.{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=29}}

===Death conspiracy theories===

Many conspiracy theories have swirled around the nature of Tom Thomson's death, including that he was murdered or committed suicide. Though these ideas lack substantiation, they have continued to persist in the popular culture.{{sfnb|Silcox|Town|2017|p=49}}{{sfnb|Klages|2016|pp=274–97}} Andrew Hunter has pointed to Robinson as being largely responsible for the suggestion that there was more to Thomson's death than accidental drowning. Hunter expands on this thought, writing, "...I am convinced that people's desire to believe the Thomson murder mystery/soap opera is rooted in the firmly fixed idea that he was an expert woodsman, intimate with nature. Such figures aren't supposed to die by "accident." If they do, it is like Grey Owl's being exposed as an Englishman."{{sfnb|Hunter|2002|p=39}}

==References==

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|group=note|30em}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

===Sources===
====Books====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last1=Addison|first1=Ottelyn|last2=Harwood|first2=Elizabeth|title=Tom Thomson: The Algonquin Years|date=1969|publisher=Ryerson Press|location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Addison |first1=Ottelyn |title=Early Days in Algonquin Park |date=1974 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-07077-786-6|ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=W. Douglas |editor1-last=Latham |editor1-first=David |title=Scarlet Hunters: Pre-Raphaelitism in Canada |date=1998 |publisher=Archives of Canadian Art |location=Toronto |chapter=The Arts and Crafts Architecture of Eden Smith|isbn=978-1-89423-400-9|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Colgate|editor1-first=William|title=Two Letters of Tom Thomson, 1915 and 1916|date=1946|publisher=Old Rectory Press|location=Weston|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=Blodwen|title=Paddle & Palette: The Story of Tom Thomson|date=1930a|publisher=Ryerson Press|location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=Blodwen|title=A Study of Tom Thomson: The Story of a Man Who Looked for Beauty and for Truth in the Wilderness|date=1935|publisher=Discuss Press|year=|isbn=|location=Toronto|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Dejardin|first1=Ian A. C.|title=Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven|date=2011|publisher=Dulwich Picture Gallery|location=London|isbn=978-0-85667-686-4|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Ron |title=Petawawa River Survey Sites: A History |date=1976 |publisher=Ministry of Natural Resources |location=Algonquin Region |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Forsey |first1=William C. |title=The Ontario Community Collects: A Survey of Canadian Painting from 1766 to the Present |date=1975 |publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario |location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book|last1=Grace|first1=Sherril|title=Inventing Tom Thomson: From Biographical Fictions to Fictional Autobiographies and Reproductions|date=2004a|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|location=Montreal|isbn=978-0-77352-752-2|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Lawren S.|title=The Story of the Group of Seven|date=1964|publisher=Rous and Mann Press|year=|isbn=|location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Hill|first=Charles|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Tom Thomson, Painter|date=2002|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=111-143|isbn=978-1-55365-493-3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Hunter|first=Andrew|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Mapping Tom|date=2002|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=19–46|isbn=978-1-55365-493-3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|contributor-last=Jackson |contributor-first=A. Y.|contribution=Foreword|contributor-link=A. Y. Jackson|author=Arts Club of Montreal |title=Catalogue of an Exhibition of Paintings by the Late Tom Thomson, March 1 to March 21, 1919 |date=1919 |location=|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|contributor-last=Jackson |contributor-first=A. Y.|contribution=Foreword|contributor-mask=3|last1=Davies|first1=Blodwen|title=A Study of Tom Thomson: The Story of a Man Who Looked for Beauty and for Truth in the Wilderness|date=1935|publisher=Discus Press|location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=A. Y.|title=A Painter's Country|date=1958|publisher=Clarke Irwin|year=|isbn=|location=Toronto|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=King|first1=Ross|title=Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=WGjfZPizNQIC&dq=9781553658078|date=2010|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|year=|isbn=978-1-55365-807-8|location=|pages=|language=en|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Klages|first1=Gregory|title=The Many Deaths of Tom Thomson: Separating Fact from Fiction|date=2016|publisher=Dundurn|location=Toronto|pages=|year=|isbn=978-1-45973-196-7|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Landry |first1=Pierre |title=The MacCallum-Jackman Cottage Mural Paintings |date=1990 |publisher=National Gallery of Canada |location=Ottawa|isbn=978-0-888-84598-6|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Little|first1=William T.|title=The Tom Thomson Mystery|date=1970|publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.|year=|isbn=|location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lloyd |first1=Donald L. |title=Canoeing Algonquin Park |date=2000 |publisher=Donald L. Lloyd |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-96865-560-3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=MacGregor|first1=Roy|title=Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him|date=2010|publisher=Random House Canada|location=Toronto|pages=|year=|isbn=978-0-30735-739-7|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=McKenna |first1=Ed |title=A Systematic Approach to the History of the Forest Industry in Algonquin Park, 1835-1913, with an Evaluation of Algonquin Park's Historical Resources and an Assessment of Algonquin Park's Historical Zone System |date=1976 |publisher=Ministry of Natural Resources |location=Algonquin Region |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=The Art of Tom Thomson|date=1971|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario|location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=The Best of Tom Thomson|date=1986|publisher=Hurtig|location=Edmonton|isbn=978-0-88830-299-1|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Tom Thomson: Design for A Canadian Hero|date=1998|publisher=Dundurn|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55002-315-2|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Tom Thomson: Trees|date=1999|publisher=McArthur & Co.|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55278-092-3|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Tom Thomson's Letters|date=2002a|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=297–306|isbn=978-1-55365-493-3|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Chronology|date=2002b|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=307–317|isbn=978-1-55365-493-3|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Water: Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven|date=2004|publisher=McArthur & Co.|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55278-457-0|pages=108-15|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Rocks: Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, and the Group of Seven|date=2006|publisher=McArthur & Co.|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55278-616-1|pages=92-7|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Northway |first1=Mary L. |title=Nominigan: The Early Years |date=1970 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=Dennis|title=The MacCallum Bequest|date=1969|publisher=National Gallery of Canada|location=Ottawa|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=Dennis|title=The Group of Seven|date=1970|publisher=The National Gallery of Canada|year=|isbn=|location=Ottawa|pages=|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|date=2002a|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|isbn=978-1-55365-493-3|editor-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=Dennis|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Tom Thomson and the Arts and Crafts Movement in Toronto|date=2002b|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=65–83|isbn=978-1-55365-493-3|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Robson|first1=Albert H.|title=Canadian Landscape Painters|date=1932|publisher=Ryerson Press|year=|isbn=|location=Toronto|pages=|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Robson|first1=Albert H.|title=Tom Thomson: Painter of Our North Country, 1877-1917|date=1937|publisher=Ryerson Press|location=Toronto|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite thesis|last=Roza|first=Alexandra M.|date=1997|title=Towards a Modern Canadian Art 1910–1936: The Group of Seven, A.J.M. Smith and F.R. Scott|type=Thesis|degree=|publisher=McGill University|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ43942.pdf|doi=|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Silcox|first1=David P.|last2=Town|first2=Harold|title=The Silence and the Storm|date=|publisher=McClelland and Stewart|year=1977|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-77108-482-9|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Silcox|first1=David P.|title=The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson|date=2006|publisher=Firefly Books|location=Richmond Hill|pages=|year=|isbn=978-1-55407-154-8|ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Silcox|first1=David P.|title=Tom Thomson: Life and Work|date=2015|publisher=Art Canada Institute|location=Toronto|pages=|year=|isbn=978-1-48710-075-9|url=https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Silcox|first1=David P.|last2=Town|first2=Harold|title=The Silence and the Storm|date=|publisher=McClelland and Stewart|year=2017|edition=Revised, Expanded|isbn=978-1-44344-234-3|location=Toronto|pages=|author1-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sloan |first1=Johanne |title=Joyce Wieland's the Far Shore |date=2010 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-44261-060-6|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stacey |first1=Robert |last2=Bishop |first2=Hunter |title=J. E. H. MacDonald, Designer: An Anthology of Graphic Design, Illustration and Lettering |date=1996 |publisher=Archives of Canadian Art, Carleton University Press |location=Ottawa |isbn=978-0-88629-304-8|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stacey |first1=Robert |title=North by South: The Art of Peleg Franklin Brownell (1857–1946) |date=1998 |publisher=Ottawa Art Gallery |location=Ottawa |chapter=Making Us See the Light: Franklin Brownell's 'Middle Passage'|isbn=1895108470|ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last=Stacey|first=Robert|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|editor2-last=Hill|editor2-first=Charles C.|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Tom Thomson as Applied Artist|date=2002|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=47–63|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stanners |first1=Sarah |title=Passion Over Reason: Tom Thomson & Joyce Wieland |date=2017 |publisher=McMichael Canadian Art Collection |location=Kleinburg|isbn=978-1-48680-480-1|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Strickland |first1=Dan |title=Trees of Algonquin Provincial Park |date=1996 |publisher=Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources |location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-89570-920-9|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Tooby |first1=Michael |title=Our Home and Native Land: Sheffield's Canadian Artists |date=1991 |publisher=Mappin Art Gallery |location=Sheffield|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Waddington |first1=Jim |last2=Waddington |first2=Sue |title=In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven |date=2016 |publisher=Goose Lane Editions |location=Fredericton |edition=paperback|isbn=978-0-86492-891-7|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Wadland |first1=John|title=Ernest Thompson Seton: Man in Nature and the Progressive Era, 1880–1915 |date=1978 |publisher=Arno |location=New York|isbn=978-0-40510-736-8|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last=Wadland|first=John|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Tom Thomson's Places|date=2002|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|pages=85–109|isbn=978-0-88629-304-8|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Webster-Cook|first1=Sandra|last2=Ruggles|first2=Anne|editor1-last=Reid|editor1-first=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson|chapter=Technical Studies on Thomson's Materials and Working Methods|date=2002|publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario/National Gallery of Canada|location=Toronto/Ottawa|isbn=978-0-88629-304-8|pages=145–51|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Zeller |first1=Suzanne |title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography |chapter=William Brodie |volume=13 |series=1901–1910 |date=1994 |publisher=Toronto |location=University of Toronto Press |pages=112–14|isbn=978-0-80203-998-9|ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

====Articles====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bayer |first1=Fern |title=The 'Ontario Collection' and the Ontario Society of Artists Policy and Purchases, 1873–1914 |journal=RACAR |date=1981 |volume=8 |issue=1|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Corbeil |first1=Marie-Claude |last2=Moffatt |first2=Elizabeth A. |last3=Sirois |first3=P. Jane |last4=Legate |first4=Kris M. |title=The Materials and Techniques of Tom Thomson |journal=Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation |date=2000 |volume=25 |pages=3–10 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite news|last=Fairbairn|first1=Margaret|title=Some Pictures at the Art Gallery|work=Toronto Daily Star|date=March 11, 1916|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Fairley|first1=Barker|title=Tom Thomson and Others|journal=The Rebel|date=March 1920|volume=3|issue=6|pages=244–48|ref=harv}}
* {{cite news|last1=Ghent|first1=Percy|title=Tom Thomson at Island Camp, Round Lake, November, 1915|work=Toronto Telegram|date=November 8, 1949|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=A. Y. |title=J. E. H. MacDonald |journal=The Canadian Forum |date=1933a |volume=13 |pages=136–38|ref=harv}}
* {{cite news|last=Jackson|first1=H. B.|title=A Camping Trip in Algonquin National Park|work=Toronto Sunday World|date=April 11, 1912|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Jessup |first1=Lynda |title=The Group of Seven and the Tourist Landscape in Western Canada, or the More Things Change... |journal=Journal of Canadian Studies |date=Spring 2002 |volume=37 |pages=144–79 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Kerr|first=Estelle M.|date=March 25, 1916|title=At the Sign of the Maple|magazine=Canadian Courier |volume=19 |issue=17 |location= |publisher= |doi=|pmid=|pages=|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last=Lismer |first=Arthur |title=The West Wind |journal=McMaster Monthly |date=January 1934 |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=163-64|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Little|first1=R. P.|title=Some Recollections of Tom Thomson and Canoe Lake|journal=Culture|date=1955|volume=16|pages=200–208|ref=harv}}
* {{cite magazine |last=MacCallum|first=James|date=March 31, 1918|title=Tom Thomson: Painter of the North|url= |magazine=Canadian Magazine |location= |publisher= |doi=|pmid=|access-date=|pages=375-85|ref=harv}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Mortimer-Lamb|first=Harold|date=March 29, 1919a|title=Letter to the editor, with attached draft article|url= |magazine=Studio Magazine |location= |publisher= |doi=|pmid=|access-date=|pages=|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Thomson |first1=Margaret |title=Margaret Thomson Reminiscences of Tom Thomson |journal=New Frontiers |date=Spring 1956 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=21–24|ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

====Archives and letters====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite archive |last=Davies|first=Blodwen|item =Application for the exhumation of the body of one Thos. Thomson drowned in Canoe Lake in 1917 |item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/investigations/1918-1932/5039en.html |type =|item-id =RG 4–32 |date =July 27, 1931 |year=1931|page= |pages= |fonds =Blodwen Davies fond |series =|file =2225 |box= |collection =Attorney General Central Registry Criminal and Civil Files |collection-url = |repository = |location = North York|oclc= |accession= |institution= Archives of Ontario |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Davies|first=Blodwen|item=Tom Thomson's Sketchbox|type=|item-id=MG30-D38|date={{circa|lk=no|1930}}|fonds=|series=11|file=|box=|collection=Blodwen Davies collection|repository=|location=Ottawa|institution=Library and Archives Canada|author-mask=3|ref={{sfnref|Davies|c. 1930}}}}
* {{cite archive |last=Fraser|first=J.S.|item =Telegram to Dr. James MacCallum |item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/tragedy/search/5252en.html |type =Telegram|item-id =|date =July 10, 1917a|year=1917a|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =|file = |box= |collection =Dr. James M. MacCallum Papers |collection-url =http://national.gallery.ca/english/library/biblio/ngc014.html |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution=National Gallery of Canada Archives |ref={{sfnref|Fraser|1917a}}}}
* {{cite archive |last=Fraser|first=J.S.|item =Telegram to John Thomson |item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/archives/miscellaneous/5060en.html |type =Telegram |item-id =MG30-D284 |date =July 16, 1917b|year=1917b|page= |pages= |fonds = |series = |file =1.3 |box= |collection = Tom Thomson Collection |collection-url = |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution= Library and Archives Canada |ref={{sfnref|Fraser|1917b}}|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=Freure|first=Ernest|item=Ernest Freure to Blodwen Davies|type=Letter|item-id=CMG 30 D4|date=November 19, 1935|year=1935|fonds=|series=|file=|box=1|collection=Blodwen Davies Papers|repository=|location=Ottawa|institution=Library and Archives Canada|ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Godin|first=Edward|item=Edward Godin to Blodwen Davies|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D38 |date=June 15, 1931a |year=1931a|page= |pages= |fonds=Blodwen Davies fond |series=|file = |box=11 |collection=Blodwen Davies collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Grier|first=Wyly|item=Pictures at the Ontario Society of Artists, Toronto, Canada|type =typescript|item-id =F1108|date =1916 |page= |pages= |fonds =|series =|file =|box= |collection =Wyly Grier Papers |collection-url = |repository = |location = North York|oclc= |accession= |institution= Archives of Ontario |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Howland|first=Gordon W.|item =Copy of Dr. G. W. Howland's affidavit (Originals withdrawn from circulation. Copies available on microfilm C-4579)|item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/tragedy/discovery/5011en.html |type =|item-id =MG30-D38 |date =July 17, 1917 |year=1917|page= |pages= |fonds =Blodwen Davies fond |series =|file = |box= |collection =11 |collection-url = |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution= Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Jackson|first=A. Y.|item=A. Y. Jackson to J. E. H. MacDonald|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D111 |date=February 14, 1914|year=1914|page= |pages= |fonds=MacDonald fonds |series=|file = |box=11 |collection=J. E. H. MacDonald collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv}}
* {{cite letter|last=Jackson|first=A. Y.|recipient=Mrs. Henry Jackson |subject=Tom Thomson|language=English |date=August 4, 1917 |year=1917|url= |accessdate= |author-mask=3 |ref=harv }}
* {{cite archive |last=Jackson|first=A. Y.|item=A. Y. Jackson to Norah Thomson|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D322 |date=May 21, 1924|year=1924|page= |pages= |fonds= |series=1|file = |box= |collection=Norah De Pencier |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=Jackson|first=A. Y.|item=A. Y. Jackson to Marius Barbeau|type=Letter|item-id= |date=March 31, 1933b|year=1933b|page= |pages= |fonds= |series=|file = |box=19 |collection=Marius Barbeau Collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Canadian Museum of Civilization |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=Jackson|first=H. B.|item=H. B. Jackson to Blodwen Davies|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D38 |date=May 25, 1930 |year=1930|page= |pages= |fonds=Blodwen Davies fond |series=|file = |box=11 |collection=Blodwen Davies collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Jackson|first=H. B.|item=H. B. Jackson to Blodwen Davies|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D38 |date=April 29, 1931a |year=1931a|page= |pages= |fonds=Blodwen Davies fond |series=|file = |box=11 |collection=Blodwen Davies collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite letter|last=Jackson|first=H. B.|recipient=Blodwen Davies |subject=Algonquin Park|language=English |date=May 5, 1931b|year=1931b|url= |accessdate= |author-mask=3 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web|last1=Klages|first1=Gregory|date=|title=Welcome|url=http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/home/indexen.html|website=Death On A Painted Lake: The Tom Thomson Tragedy|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|accessdate=April 15, 2018|ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Lismer|first=Arthur|item=A. Lismer to J. E. H. MacDonald|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D111|date=March 21, 1919|year=1919|fonds=|series=|file=|box=11|collection=Arthur Lismer|repository=|location=Ottawa|institution=Library and Archives Canada|ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Lismer|first=Arthur|item=Tom Thomson|type=|item-id=MG30-D184|date={{circa|lk=no|1942}}|fonds=Arthur Lismer|series=|file=|box=2|collection=Arthur Lismer|repository=|location=Ottawa|institution=Library and Archives Canada|author-mask=3|ref={{sfnref|Lismer|c. 1942}}}}
* {{cite archive |last=MacCallum |first=J. M. |item =Mrs. Quinton |item-url = |type =Letter |item-id = |date =September 21, 1921a|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =3 |file =1 |box=28 |collection =Canadian Group of Seven |repository = |institution =Albright-Know Art Gallery Archives |location =Buffalo |oclc= |accession= |ref={{sfnref|MacCallum|1921a}}}}
* {{cite archive |last=MacCallum |first=J. M. |item =Eric Brown |item-url = |type =Letter |item-id = |date =September 21, 1921b|page= |pages= |fonds = |series = |file = |box= |collection =MacCallum Collector's file |repository = |institution =National Gallery of Canada Archives |location =Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |ref={{sfnref|MacCallum|1921b}}|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=MacCallum |first=J. M. |item =A. L. Beatty |item-url = |type =Letter |item-id = |date =May 14, 1937a|page= |pages= |fonds = |series = |file = |box= |collection =Thomson Papers |repository = |institution =Art Gallery of Ontario Archives |location =Toronto |oclc= |accession= |ref={{sfnref|MacCallum|1937a}}|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=MacCallum|first=J. M.|item =H. O. McCurry |item-url =|type =Letter|item-id =|date =July 18, 1938|year=1938|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =|file = |box= |collection =Tom Thomson Papers |collection-url = |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession=1.71–MacCallum |institution=National Gallery of Canada Archives |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=MacCallum|first=J. M.|item =J. M. MacCallum to H. O. McCurry, June 16, 1939, and H. O. McCurry to J.M. MacCallum, November 7, 1939, annotated with a response from Dr. MacCallum |item-url =|type =Letter|item-id =|date =1939|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =Tom Thomson|file = |box= |collection =Tom Thomson Papers |collection-url = |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession=NGC 4726 |institution=National Gallery of Canada Archives |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite letter|last=MacDonald|first=J. E. H.|recipient=John Thomson |subject=Memorial cairn |language=English |date=October 3, 1917 |year=1917|url= |accessdate= |author-mask= |ref=harv }}
* {{cite archive|last=MacDonald|first=J. E. H.|item =A. Lismer|type =Letter|date =March 16, 1919|fonds = |series = |file = |box= |collection =Arthur Lismer Papers|repository = |institution =The McMichael Canadian Art Collection Archives |location = |oclc= |accession= |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite letter|last=MacDonald|first=J. E. H.|recipient=Eric Brown |subject=Tom Thomson |language=English |date=October 14, 1921 |year=1921|url= |accessdate= |author-mask=3 |ref=harv }}
* {{cite archive |author=Ontario Society of Artists|item =Minutes of the meetings of March 3 and 17, 1914 |type =Minutes Books|item-id =|date =March 3/17, 1914 |year=1914|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =|file =F1140 |box= |collection =Ontario Society of Artists Papers |collection-url = |repository = |location = North York|oclc= |accession= |institution= Archives of Ontario |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive|last=Ranney|first=A. E.|item =Letter to Blodwen Davies (Original withdrawn from circulation. Copies available on microfilm C-4579)|item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/archives/privateletter/5001en.html |type =|item-id =MG30 D38 |date =May 7, 1931 |year=1931|page= |pages= |fonds =Blodwen Davies fond |series = |file = |box= |collection = 11|collection-url = |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution= Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive|last=Rossell|first=Leonard|item =Reminiscences of Grip, Members of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson |item-url = |type = |item-id =MG30-D284 |date ={{circa|lk=no|1951}} |page= |pages= |fonds = |series = |file =T485.R82 |box= |collection = Tom Thomson Collection |collection-url = |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution= Library and Archives Canada |ref={{sfnref|Rossell|c. 1951}}}}
* {{cite archive|last=Robinson|first=Mark|item =Mark Robinson's Daily journal |item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/tragedy/discovery/5534en.html |type =Journal entry|item-id =97-011|date =July 16–18, 1917 |year=1917|page= |pages= |fonds =Addison family fonds |series = |file = |box= |collection =Addison family |collection-url = |repository = |location = Peterborough |oclc= |accession= |institution= Trent University Archives|ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Thomson|first=Fraser|item=Fraser Thomson to Blodwen Davies|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D38 |date=May 19, 1930 |year=1930|page= |pages= |fonds=Blodwen Davies fond |series=|file = |box=11 |collection=Blodwen Davies collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv}}
* {{cite archive |last=Thomson|first=George|item=George Thomson to J. M. MacCallum|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D38 |date=July 19, 1917a|year=1917a|page= |pages= |fonds=|series=George Thomson correspondence|file =6 |box=1 |collection =Dr. James M. MacCallum Papers |collection-url =http://national.gallery.ca/english/library/biblio/ngc014.htm |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=National Gallery of Canada Archives |ref={{sfnref|Thomson|1917a}}}}
* {{cite archive |last=Thomson|first=George|item=George Thomson to Blodwen Davies|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D38 |date=April 23, 1934 |year=1934|page= |pages= |fonds=Blodwen Davies fond |series=|file = |box=11 |collection=Blodwen Davies collection |collection-url = |repository = |location =Ottawa|oclc= |accession= |institution=Library and Archives Canada |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite letter|last=Thomson|first=Henry|recipient=H. O. McCurry |subject=Letter to McCurry with a typed copy of draft letter from Ralph Thomson to Blodwen Davies|language=English |date=October 19, 1946 |year=1946|url= |accessdate= |author-mask= |ref=harv}}
* {{cite letter|last=Thomson|first=Tom|recipient=Dr. M. J. (John) McRuer |subject=Letter to McRuer |language=English |date=October 17, 1912 |year=1912|url= |accessdate= |author-mask= |ref=harv }}
* {{cite letter|last=Thomson|first=Tom|recipient=Frederick Varley |subject=Letter to Varley |language=English |date=July 8, 1914a |year=1914a|url= |accessdate= |author-mask=3 |ref={{sfnref|Thomson|1914a}}}}
* {{cite archive |last=Thomson|first=Tom|item =Letter to Dr. James MacCallum |item-url =|type =Letter |item-id =|date =October 6, 1914b |year=1914b|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =Tom Thomson correspondence|file =5 |box=1 |collection =Dr. James M. MacCallum Papers |collection-url =http://national.gallery.ca/english/library/biblio/ngc014.html |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution=National Gallery of Canada Archives |ref={{sfnref|Thomson|1914b}}|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite letter|last=Thomson|first=Tom|recipient=J. E. H. MacDonald |subject=MacDonald |language=English |date=July 22, 1915a |year=1915a|url= |accessdate=|ref={{sfnref|Thomson|1915a}}|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite letter|last=Thomson|first=Tom|recipient=J. M. MacCallum |subject=MacCallum|language=English |date=September 8, 1915b |year=1915b|url= |accessdate=|ref={{sfnref|Thomson|1915b}}|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |first=Tom|last=Thomson|item =Letter to Dr. James MacCallum |item-url =http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/archives/privateletter/5400en.html |type =Letter |item-id =|date =October 4, 1916|year=1916|page= |pages= |fonds = |series =Tom Thomson correspondence|file =5 |box=1 |collection =Dr. James M. MacCallum Papers |collection-url =http://national.gallery.ca/english/library/biblio/ngc014.html |repository = |location = Ottawa |oclc= |accession= |institution=National Gallery of Canada Archives |ref=harv|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite archive |last=Thomson|first=Tom|item=Letter to T. J. Harkness|type=Letter|item-id=MG30-D284|date=April 16, 1917b|year=1917b|fonds=Tom Thomson|series=1|file=|box=|collection=Tom Thomson correspondence 1912–17|repository=|location=Ottawa|institution=Library and Archives Canada|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
===Books and catalogues===

{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last1=Boulet|first1=Roger|title=The Canadian Earth and Tom Thomson|date=1982|publisher=Cerebrus Publishing|isbn=978-0-13112-953-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Dawn|first=Leslie|editor1-last=O'Brian|editor1-first=John|editor2-last=White|editor2-first=Peter|title=Beyond Wilderness: The Group of Seven, Canadian Identity, and Contemporary Art|chapter=The Britishness of Canadian Art|date=2007|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|location=Montreal|isbn=978-0-77353-244-1|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=R. H.|title=Tom Thomson|date=1962|publisher=Society for Art Publications/McClelland and Stewart|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book|last=Jessup|first=Lynda|editor1-last=O'Brian|editor1-first=John|editor2-last=White|editor2-first=Peter|title=Beyond Wilderness: The Group of Seven, Canadian Identity, and Contemporary Art|chapter=Art for a Nation|date=2007|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|location=Montreal|isbn=978-0-77353-244-1|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lismer |first1=Arthur |title=Tom Thomson: The Story of a Man Who Looked for Beauty and Truth in the Wilderness |date=1967 |publisher=Mitchell Press |location=Vancouver}}
* {{cite book |last1=Little |first1=John |title=Who Killed Tom Thomson?: The Truth about the Murder of One of the 20th Century's Most Famous Artists |date=2018 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1-51073-338-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Littlefield|first1=Angie|title=Tom Thomson's Fine Kettle of Friends: Biography, History, Art and Food|date=2017|publisher=Marangi Editions|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-99583-180-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=MacCallum|first1=J. M.|title=Tom Thomson: Painter of the North|date=1937b|publisher=Mellors Gallery|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book |last1=MacGregor |first1=Roy |title=Shorelines: a Novel |date=1980 |publisher=McClelland and Stewart |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-77105-459-4|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=McKay |first1=Marylin J. |title=Picturing the Land: Narrating Territories in Canadian Landscape Art, 1500-1950 |date=2011 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Montreal |isbn=978-0-77353-817-7|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Millard|first1=Laura|title=Algonquin Memories: Tom Thomson in Algonquin Park|date=1998|publisher=Thompson Books|location=Owen Sound}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Northern Lights: Masterpieces of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven|date=1994a|publisher=Key Porter|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-88665-347-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Tom Thomson: The Last Spring|date=1994b|publisher=Dundurn|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55002-218-6|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Tom Thomson: A Sketchbook|date=1996|publisher=Golden Press|location=Toronto|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Tom Thomson: Design for A Canadian Hero|date=1998|publisher=Dundurn|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55002-315-2|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=Flowers: J. E. H. MacDonald, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven|date=2002c|publisher=McArthur & Co.|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55278-326-9|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Joan|title=A Treasury of Tom Thomson|date=2012|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-55365-886-3|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Poling|first1=Jim|title=Tom Thomson: The Life and Mysterious Death of the Famous Canadian Painter|date=2003|publisher=Altitude Publishing|isbn=978-1-55153-950-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=Dennis |title=A Bibliography of the Group of Seven |date=1971a |publisher=National Gallery of Canada |location=Ottawa|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=Dennis|title=Tom Thomson, The Jack Pine|date=1975|series=Masterpieces in the National Gallery of Canada|volume=5|publisher=National Gallery of Canada|location=Ottawa|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Saunders|first1=A.|title=Algonquin Story|date=1947|publisher=Department of Lands and Forests|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book|last1=Silcox|first1=David|title=Tom Thomson: An Introduction to His Life and Art|date=2002|publisher=Firefly Books|isbn=978-1-55297-682-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Geoff|title=Tom Thomson's Last Bonfire|date=2017|publisher=Burnstown Publishing House|isbn=978-1-77257-159-2}}
* {{cite book|last1=Town|first1=Harold|editor-last=Massey|editor-first=Vincent|title=Great Canadians: Canadian Centennial Library|date=1965|publisher=McClelland and Stewart|location=Toronto|chapter=The Pathfinder}}
* {{cite book|last1=Verduyn|first1=Christl|editor1-last=Garay|editor1-first=Kathleen|title=Archival Narratives for Canada: Re-telling Stories in a Changing Landscape|date=2011|publisher=Fernwood Pub.|location=Winnipeg|pages=|year=|isbn=978-1-55266-446-9|ref=harv}}
{{refend}}

===Articles===

{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bordo |first1=Jonathan |title=Jack Pine: Wilderness Sublime or the Erasure of the Aboriginal Presence from the Canadian Landscape |journal=Journal of Canadian Studies |date=1992-93 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=98–128}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Buchanan|first1=Donald W.|title=Tom Thomson, Painter of the True North|journal=Canadian Geographic Journal|date=August 1946|volume=33|issue=2|pages=98–100}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Cameron |first1=Ross D. |title=Tom Thomson, Antimodernism, and the Ideal of Manhood |journal=Journal of the Canadian Historical Association |date=1999 |volume=10 |page=185}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Comfort|first1=C.|title=Georgian Bay Legacy|journal=Canadian Art|date=Spring 1951|volume=8|issue=3|pages=106–9}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Lismer|first1=Arthur|title=Tom Thomson, 1877–1917: A Tribute to a Canadian Painter|journal=Canadian Art|date=1947|volume=5|issue=2|pages=59–62}}
* {{cite journal|last1=MacDonald|first1=J. E. H.|title=A Landmark of Canadian Art|journal=The Rebel|date=November 1917|volume=2|issue=2|pages=45–50}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Machardy |first1=Carolyn |title=An Inquiry into the Success of Tom Thomson’s ''The West Wind'' |journal=University of Toronto Quarterly |date=1999 |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=768–89}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Mortimer-Lamb|first1=Harold|title=Studio-Talk: Tom Thomson|journal=The Studio|date=August 1919b|volume=77|issue=317|pages=119–26}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Pringle|first1=Gertrude|title=Tom Thomson: The Man, Painter of the Wilds Was a Very Unique Individuality|journal=Saturday Night|date=April 10, 1926|volume=41|issue=21|page=5}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Reid|first1=Dennis|title=Photographs by Tom Thomson (1970)|journal=National Gallery of Canada Bulletin/Galerie nationale du Canada Bulletin|date=1971b|volume=16|pages=2-36|ref=harv}}
* Sharpe, Dr. Noble (October 30, 1956). ''[http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/thomson/investigations/1950-1965/5040en.html Re: Human Bones received from unmarked grave in Algonquin Park].'' Documents supplied in response to Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Privacy Act request. Centre for Forensic Sciences, Toronto.
* {{cite journal|last1=Sharpe|first1=Dr. Noble|title=The Canoe Lake Mystery|journal=Canadian Society of Forensic Science|date=June 1970|volume=3|issue=2|pages=34–40|author-mask=3}}
{{refend}}

===Newspaper stories===

{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite news|title=Pictures by Sydenham Boy Worth Seeing. Mr. Thomson's Pictures Show Decided Talent of Promising Talent|work=Owen Sound Sun|date=April 10, 1917}}
* {{cite news|title=Toronto Artist Missing in North|work=Globe|date=July 13, 1917}}
* {{cite news|title=Toronto Artist Drowns in North|work=Globe|date=July 18, 1917}}
* {{cite news|title=Tom Thomson's Aged Father Typifies Son's Rugged Scenes|work=Toronto Star|date=February 4, 1926}}
* {{cite news|title=Canoe Discovered by Boy in Lake is Believed to Be Tom Thomson's|work=Mail and Empire|date=August 9, 1930}}
* {{cite news|last1=Davies|first1=Blodwen|title=Young Pirates Hunt Lake Artist's Canoe|work=Star Weekly|date=August 9, 1930b}}
* {{cite news|title=Totem Pole Honors Tom Thomson's Ideal|work=Mail and Empire|date=August 18, 1930}}
* {{cite news|title=Bark Canoe Carries Memorial Flowers|work=Globe|date=August 19, 1930}}
* {{cite news|last1=Burgoyne|first1=St. George|title=Tom Thomson, Painter of the Wilds, Lost to Canadian Art 20 Years Ago|work=Montreal Gazette|date=September 25, 1937}}
* {{cite news|last1=Ghent|first1=Percy|title=Tom Thomson at Island Camp, Round Lake, November, 1915|work=Toronto Telegram|date=November 8, 1949}}
* {{cite news|last1=Davidson|first1=T. Arthur|title=Tom Thomson Grew to Manhood in Leith Area and Later Became Canada's Best Known Painter|work=Owen Sound Times|date=January 21, 1956}}
* {{cite news|title=Bones at Canoe Lake Not Those of Artist|work=Globe and Mail|date=October 19, 1956}}
* {{cite news|last1=Duval|first1=Paul|title=Tumbledown Shack—or Art Shrine?|work=Toronto Telegram|date=May 6, 1961}}
* {{cite news|last1=Grantham|first1=Ronald|title=Artist Suddenly Saw What Canada Is Like|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=January 13, 1968}}
* {{cite news|title=Morbid Curiosity Should Not Be Satisfied|work=Owen Sound Sun Times|date=February 4, 1969}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Dellandrea|first=Jon S.|date=July–August 2017|title=Brush with Infamy|url=https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2017/07/brush-with-infamy/ |magazine=Literary Review Canada |volume=26 |issue=6 |location= |publisher= |doi=|pmid=|access-date=August 8, 2018|pages=|ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last1=Vikander |first1=Tessa |title=Tom Thomson sketch heads to Toronto auction block after languishing in Edmonton basement |url=https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/05/08/previously-unknown-tom-thomson-sketch-to-be-auctioned-in-toronto-and-experts-say-similar-pieces-could-be-awaiting-discovery.html |website=thestar.com |publisher=Toronto Star |date=May 9, 2018 |accessdate=August 6, 2018 |language=en|ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |author1=Canadian Press, The|title=Tom Thomson sketch discovered in Edmonton basement sells for $481K at auction |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2018/05/30/tom-thomson-sketch-discovered-in-edmonton-basement-sells-for-481k-at-auction.html |website=thestar.com |publisher=Toronto Star |date=May 30, 2018 |accessdate=August 6, 2018 |language=en|ref={{sfnref|The Canadian Press|2018}}}}
{{refend}}

===Films===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite AV media |people=Hozer, Michèle (Director) and Peter Raymont (Producer) |date=2011 |title=West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson |medium=Filmstrip |time= |location=Toronto |publisher=White Pine Pictures|url=http://www.tomthomsonart.ca}}
* {{cite AV media |people=McInnes, Graham (Director) |date=1944 |title=West Wind |medium=35mm film, colour |time= |location=|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/west_wind|ref={{sfnref|McInnes|1944}}}}
* {{cite AV media |people=Vaisbord, David (Director) |date=2005 |title=Dark Pines: A Documentary Investigation into the Death of Tom Thomson |medium=DV Cam, colour |time= |location=Vancouver |publisher=Laughing Mountain Communications}}
* {{cite AV media |last=Wieland |first= Joyce |date=1976 |title=The Far Shore |medium=35mm film, colour |time= |location=Toronto |publisher=Far Shore Inc.|ref={{sfnref|Wieland|1976}}}}
{{refend}}

===The Group of Seven and Canadian art===

{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Douglas |title=Artists, Patrons and Public: An Inquiry into the Success of the Group of Seven |journal=Revue d'études canadiennes/Journal of Canadian Studies |date=Summer 1978 |volume=13 |pages=69–78}}
* {{cite book|last1=Colgate|first1=William|title=Canadian Art: Its Origin and Development|date=1943|publisher=Ryerson Press|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Ann |title=The Logic of Ecstasy: Canadian Mystical Painting, 1920–1940 |date=1992 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-80206-861-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dawn |first1=Leslie |title=National Visions, National Blindness: Canadian Art and Identities in the 1920s |date=2006 |publisher=UBC Press |location=Vancouver |isbn=978-0-77481-218-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Djwa |first1=Sandra |editor1-last=New |editor1-first=W. H. |title=Inside the Poem: Essays and Poems in Honour of Donald Stephens |date=1992 |publisher=Oxford Press |location=Toronto |pages=205–15 |chapter=Who is This Man Smith?: Second and Third Thoughts on Canadian Modernism|isbn=0195409256|ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=Duval |first1=Paul |title=Four Decades: The Canadian Group of Painters and Their Contemporaries, 1930–1970 |date=1972 |publisher=Clarke Irwin |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-77200-553-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Duval |first1=Paul |title=The Tangled Garden |date=1978 |publisher=Cerebrus/Prentice-Hall |location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-92001-608-4|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Eisenberg |first1=Evan |title=The Ecology of Eden |date=1998 |publisher=Random House of Canada |location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-37570-560-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Grace |first1=Sherrill E. |title=Canada and the Idea of North |date=2004b |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Montreal |isbn=978-0-77353-253-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Harper|first1=J. Russell|title=Painting in Canada: A History|date=1966|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-80206-307-6}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=Lawren |title=The Revelation of Art in Canada |journal=Canadian Theosophist |date=July 1926 |volume=7 |pages=85–88}}
* {{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Lawren |editor1-last=Brooker |editor1-first=Bertram |title=Yearbook of the Arts in Canada, 1928–1929 |date=1929 |publisher=Macmillan Company of Canada |location=Toronto |pages=177–86 |chapter=Creative Art and Canada|author-mask=3|ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=Lawren |title=The Function of Art |journal=Art Gallery Bulletin [Vancouver Art Gallery] |date=October 1943 |volume=2 |pages=2–3|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Lawren|title=Canadian Historical Association: Report of the Annual Meeting held at Victoria and Vancouver, 16–19 June 1948 |chapter=The Group of Seven in Canadian History |date=1948 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |pages=28–38|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Charles C. |title=The Group of Seven: Art for a Nation |date=1995 |publisher=National Gallery of Canada |location=Ottawa |isbn=978-0-77106-716-7}}
* {{cite book|last1=Housser|first1=F. B.|title=A Canadian Art Movement: The Story of the Group of Seven|date=1926|publisher=Macmillan|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=R.H.|title=The Development of Canadian Art|date=1963|publisher=National Gallery of Canada|location=Ottawa}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=A. Y. |title=Box-car Days in Algoma 1919–20 |journal=Canadian Art |date=Summer 1957 |volume=14 |pages=136–41}}
* {{cite book |last1=Larisey |first1=Peter |title=Light for a Cold Land: Lawren Harris's Life and Work |date=1993 |publisher=Dundurn Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-55002-188-2}}
* {{cite journal |last1=MacDonald |first1=J. E. H. |title=The Canadian Spirit in Art |journal=The Statesman |date=March 22, 1919 |volume=35 |pages=6–7}}
* {{cite journal |last1=MacDonald |first1=J. E. H. |title=A.C.R. 10557 |journal=The Lamps |date=December 1919 |pages=33–39|author-mask=3}}
* {{cite book|last1=MacDonald|first1=Thoreau|title=The Group of Seven|date=1944|publisher=Ryerson Press|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book|last1=MacTavish|first1=Newton|title=The Fine Arts in Canada|date=1925|publisher=Macmillan|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Martinsen |first1=Hanna |title=The Scandinavian Impact on the Group of Seven's Vision of the Canadian Landscape |journal=Konsthistorisk Tidskrift |date=1984 |volume=L111 |pages=1–17}}
* {{cite book|last1=McInns|first1=Graham C.|title=Canadian Art|date=1950|publisher=Macmillan|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book|last1=Mellen|first1=Peter|title=The Group of Seven|date=1970|publisher=McClelland and Stewart|location=Toronto}}
* {{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Joan |title=The Best of the Group of Seven |date=1984 |publisher=Hurtig Publishers |location=Edmonton |isbn=978-0-77106-674-0}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=O'Brian|editor1-first=John|editor2-last=White|editor2-first=Peter|title=Beyond Wilderness: The Group of Seven, Canadian Identity, and Contemporary Art|date=2007|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|location=Montreal|isbn=978-0-77353-244-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rosenblum |first1=Robert |title=Modern Painting and the Northern Romantic Tradition: Friedrich to Rothko |date=1975 |publisher=Harper & Row |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06430-057-5}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://tomthomsoncatalogue.org/ Tom Thomson Catalogue Raisonné], the complete works of Thomson
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tom-thomson Tom Thomson] entry in ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]''
* [https://ago.ca/collection/browse?related_artists%5B30151%5D=30151 Tom Thomson] collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario
* [http://mcmichael.com/portfolio-items/tom-thomson/ Tom Thomson] collection at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
* [https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/tom-thomson Tom Thomson] collection at the National Gallery of Canada
* [https://www.owensound.ca/en/tomthomson.aspx Tom Thomson Art Gallery]
* [https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson Tom Thomson: Life and Work] at Art Canada Institute



{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Tom}}
[[Category:Death conspiracy theories]]

{{Sourceattribution|Tom Thomson|1}}