My Daily Art
Tom Thomson. Early Snow, 1916. Oil on canvas. 45.5 x 45.5 cm. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; acquired with the assistance of the Canadian Government, approved by the Minister of Canadian Heritage under the terms of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, and with contributions by The Winnipeg Foundation, The Thomas Sill Foundation Inc., The Winnipeg Art Gallery Foundation Inc., Mr. and Mrs. G.B. Wiswell Fund, DeFehr Foundation Inc., Loch and Mayberry Fine Art Inc, and several anonymous donors, 2000-1
In his short artistic career, from 1912 until his death by drowning in 1917, Thomson painted only 33 large canvases, the work in WAG collection being one of them. The major component of his production comprised small open-air sketches on panel executed in the Ontario park where he was a fire ranger and guide.
In the winter, Thomson worked in his studio and produced the larger pieces. Perhaps that’s why he gave us purple snow — but purple snow we all know exists in this country, along with the amazing light of a February afternoon…or maybe April.
While the WAG is temporarily closed, this series of posts from Director & CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys, shares an artwork from the collection every day until the Gallery reopens. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit our stories section for this and more WAG@Home content.
2 thoughts on "My Daily Art"
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Loved this painting as I love the Group of Seven generally because of their Canadian landscapes – that is important to me as part of my culture. I thought it was “blue snow” – maybe I am a little colour blind. I am paying more attention to colour these days – especially love skies at dawn and sunset. This year the signs of spring are more important than ever as we have time to appreciate them on a daily basis.
Tom Thomson is my favourite painter. I am so inspired by Canadian scenery.