Caprice Hogg
This is not your average art history book as Jim and Sue Waddington take the reader on an artistic adventure. Their goal was not only to have a better understanding of the paintings and the artists of the Group of Seven, but they also felt that “Canadians should know some of the sites of their most renowned paintings.”
The Group of Seven travelled to remote locations across Canada to paint the rugged and remote lands. These trips resulted in an art movement showcasing a truly Canadian art. Yet, the artists left very few details as to where the paintings actually happened. It was the art that inspired the authors to track down the locations of these paintings that changed the way we see art in Canada. This turned into a 36-year odyssey that took the authors on journeys to lands many Canadians will never see. The trips were not easy as they traversed through rugged and remote locations to find the spot of the painter’s artistic vision.
More important than the actual travel was the lengthy process of researching and investigating the elusive painting spots. They tracked mere clues found in letters and other correspondence to narrow down their search. The authors also acknowledge that luck, more often than not, was their greatest ally in finding the scene of the paintings. The result of their efforts produced a beautiful book that not only showcases the artwork of Canada’s greatest painters but then puts those paintings next to a photograph of the actual scene. This parallel allows the viewer to literally stand in the exact locations where the painters stood decades earlier. It is fascinating to see how little the scenes themselves have changed even after so much time has passed. To an artistic eye, seeing the photos of the views next to the paintings gives us a deeper understanding of what the artists found to be important, the details they left out of the paintings, the parts they chose to focus on, and how they simplified the dramatic scene in front of them. All these details are important to better understand the paintings and what their artistic eyes deemed important in a work of art.
This book transports us to a time when the artists themselves, who are now long dead, stood in these various spots with paintbrushes dripping with oil paint, paintboxes, and spectacular scenery spread out in front of them. These moments in time would live on and become famous because they captured them in paint for future generations. They created something that is revered in art museums across the country. It takes us back to the humble beginnings before the artists were famous and show how their talents and the remarkable Canadian scenery stands through the test of time.