Artist: Tom Thomson

Since his untimely and mysterious death in 1917, Tom Thomson has become the most famous artist in the history of this country and his life has become a Canadian legend. He was raised on a farm in Owen Sound, Ontario, and as a young man seemed unable to settle down. He eventually found work in a photo-engraving firm in Seattle. By 1905 he was back in Ontario. He joined a Toronto commercial art firm, Grip Ltd. There he came into contact with men with serious artistic ambitions - J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Johnston, and later Arthur Lismer and Franklin Carmichael.