Monday, March 14, 2011

Tom Thomson's Shack


Painted by AJ Casson. Group of Seven.


Sketched by AY Jackson. Group of Seven.



The shack, as it is seen today at the McMichael Gallery, Kleingburg, On.

As you walk between the parking lot and the McMichael art gallery, you’ll see it: a tall shack surrounded by trees. This is Tom Thomson’s studio, which started out life as a construction shack parked behind a famous studio in downtown Toronto. Thomson used the shack as an artists’ studio and home while he was living and painting in Toronto, in between trips to Algonquin Park. It’s kind of cool to have the shell—or womb—that housed Thomson while he created so many of the fine paintings that are displayed in the gallery next door.

The McMichaels bought the shack in 1962 and installed it on their land. It now serves as a studio for artists-in-residence at the McMichael art gallery – quite an honour! Does the spirit of Tom Thomson inspire them? If you’re fortunate to visit on a day when the current resident is at work there, you’ll have a chance to see inside and chat with them. Otherwise, you can at least peek through the window.

Sources:
Pictures 1 and 2, submitted by Mo Bayliss.
Picture 3 and text, from the McMichael Gallery article in Travel Ontario. Please click here to view the article.

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