A Brush with the Group of Seven

In 1912, Canadian artist Tom Thompson went into Algonquin Park. On his return, his friends were so inspired by his paintings they started to join his summer sketching trips, and the Group of Seven was begun.
In 1917, Thompson drowned in Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, under mysterious circumstances. There is a statue of Tom, sketching beside his canoe, at the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville. This was created by local artist Brenda Wainman Goulet.
Here at BONDI, we have an original work by Brenda as well -- a full scale replica of a Red Tail Hawk in flight, soaring over our lawn, as a memorial to our dad, Paul Tapley, who loved to fly.

Huntsville has taken up the theme of the Group of Seven with a will, and there are now 22 murals replicating the most famous works of the Group of Seven scattered through Huntsville. You can spend a day easily roaming about looking at them, breaking up the sightseeing with a coffee, or a small shopping excursion into the great downtown boutiques and cafes on Huntsville's Main Street.

And, every summer, you can go one better than just looking. During the Mural Festival, when new murals are being created, you can join artist Gerry Lantaigne and add your own brush strokes to the work. One of our guests, Mary Anne, did just that last week. The mural is set up at the town hall, right next to the statue of Tom himself. In 2007, 1300 people added their 'signature' brush strokes to the mural you can see in the background of the picture of Tom's statue -- Autumn Garland.

The Group of Seven Mural Gallery is expanding this year, with the addition of two murals being created at the Dorset Heritage Museum. Frank Johnston had strong connections to Dorset, so the Museum has chosen him as their featured artist. The first mural Gerry will be creating is Johnston's Northern Evening. The Museum at Dorset is well worth dropping by for a visit, with or without a mural.

The best thing about murals is that they get people out of their cars, because the best way to experience them is slowly, walking, standing, sitting, admiring. They are beautiful things.