Painters 11 and Early Abstraction Episode #14 Spirit Revealed Through Nature

I knew this would come about from my captivation with Lawren Harris. It started when I discovered his massive paintings as a child, going with my school to visit the bigger galleries in downtown Toronto, Canada. His paintings have an immensity to them. A grandeur, tremendousness that envelopes you. Brings you inward, inside. Almost as if he captures you inside a discussion he is having with himself and you on the style, the work, the vastness of our Canadian North that attracted him for his whole life.

Lawren Harris met J. E. H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael, A. Y, Jackson, and the other artists who formed the Group of Seven. They had a unique passion that focused their energies to produce prolific works that glorify our nation. This podcast will discuss other artists you may not have heard of who went into the fabric of Canadian Abstract Art. 

How did these artists connect the influences from England, New York, and the distracting Canadian landscapes that fold you in? Who knew each other during that turbulent time of the early 19th century? What did they share? How did their exposure to these decidedly different personalities and perspectives weave together to depict a refreshing, new, and extraordinary language that transcended borders, communities, and cultures?

Transcript

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Hey everyone, welcome back to the Creatively Thinking Podcast. Join Carolyn Matello as she uncovers the inspirations behind some incredibly creative minds that are orbiting our local communities. Hey everyone, welcome back to the Creatively Thinking Podcast with Carolyn B. And this is a different podcast today. I'm doing an essay on two groups of artists who have sort of fascinated me for a very long time. And the podcast is called Spirit Revealed Through Nature, the group of seven, Painters Eleven, and the Evolution of Canadian Modernism. Lauren Harris remains one of Canada's most celebrated painters of the 20th century. Best known as a founding member of the Group of Seven, he helped shape a distinctly Canadian artistic identity through his powerful depictions of the northern wilderness. Born in Brantford, Ontario, into a wealthy family, Harris nevertheless forged his own artistic path. He studied in Berlin, where he encountered post impressionism and modern European ideas before traveling through Austria, France, Italy, and England. These experiences exposed him to the German secessionists and eventually led him to the study of theosophy, deepening his belief that landscape painting could reveal spiritual truths rather than simply record physical places. Among the members of the group of seven, Harris was the artist most willing to embrace international modernism. His search for a spiritual, universal language gradually pushed him beyond representation altogether. By the 1950s, his paintings had evolved into pure abstraction, making him an important bridge between the group of seven and the abstract painters who followed. When Painters Eleven formed in 1953, their very name acknowledged this lineage, paying homage to the earlier group of seven while charting a new artistic direction. Although these two groups are often presented as opposites, one devoted to landscape and the other to abstraction, they share remarkable similarities. Both were collections of fiercely independent artists united by a common belief that Canadian art should develop its own identity. Both embraced bold color, expressive brushwork, and an unwavering commitment to an innovation. Their subjects differed dramatically, yet each movement sought to express something larger than appearance alone. The emotional, spiritual, and psychological experience of modern life. And now we get into the personalities behind the group of seven. Lauren Harris was the spiritual visionary of the group, but each member contributed a distinct personality that enriched its collective identity. And A.Y. Jackson was known as the wanderer, or been identified as the wanderer. AY Jackson embodied the rugged explorer. He traveled extensively through Georgian Bay, Quebec, Labrador, and the Arctic, often enduring harsh conditions to paint remote landscapes. His expressive brushwork, rolling hills, and textured surfaces rejected the polished conventions of European academic painting. Jackson became the group's practical adventurer and one of its strongest advocates. Now J.E.H. MacDonald, the poetic designer, originally a graphic designer, J.E.H. MacDonald, balanced the group's raw energy with thoughtful composition and lyrical rhythm. His landscapes transformed forests and mountains into decorative patterns while remaining deeply rooted in the Canadian landscape. His work combined design principles with emotional sensitivity, helping define the visual language of the group of seven. And Arthur Lismer and F. H. Varley were known as or have been distinguished as two distinct visions. Arthur Lismer approached painting with enthusiasm and optimism. Thick, energetic brushstrokes captured the vitality of the Canadian wilderness, while his dedication to art education made him one of Canada's most influential teachers. Frederick Varley offered a very different temperament. Intensely emotional and deeply spiritual, he explored the psychological relationship between humanity and nature. His dramatic color choices and expressive compositions gave his landscapes an almost mystical quality. Emily Carr, a kindred spirit. Although Emily Carr was never an official member of the group of seven, she shared many of its artistic ideas and became one of its closest allies. Lauren Harris recognized her extraordinary talent and famously welcomed her by saying, You are one of us. Their friendship developed into long correspondence centered on spirituality, landscape, and artistic purpose. Carr drew inspiration from the forests and the indigenous villages of British Columbia, creating monumental images of towering trees, dramatic skies, and totem poles. She was also an accomplished writer, whose book Clee Wick won the Governor General's award. Her paintings combined spiritual intensity with deep respect for the landscape and cultures that inspired them, making her one of Canada's most important modern artists. Frank Johnston. Frank Johnston joined the group of seven at its founding in 1920, but left only a few years later after accepting the position of principal of Winnipeg School of Art. Unlike many of his colleagues, Johnston maintained greater appeal among traditional collectors who appreciated his vivid color and atmospheric depictions of northern Canada. In 1925, he adopted the name Franz Johnston and later became principal of the Ontario College of Art. Throughout his career, he became fascinated by the effects of light on snow, water, and winter landscapes. His increasingly refined and luminous paintings earned him considerable success during his lifetime. Tom Thompson, the guiding spirit. Although Tom Thompson died before the official formation of the Group of Seven in 1920, he remains its spiritual founder. Paintings such as The Jack Pine and The West Wind have become enduring symbols of Canadian identity. While working at Grip Limited, which is actually a company that still exists today, just not as the same name, Thompson met many of the future members of the Group of Seven. Encouraged by J.E.H. MacDonald, he began sketching throughout Algonquin Park and Northern Ontario. Initially uncertain of his own abilities, he eventually developed a bold and highly personal style. His mysterious death by drowning in 1917 devastated his friends. A.Y. Jackson later described Thompson as their guide and interpreter of the northern wilderness. His influence remained central to the group's vision long after his passing. From landscape to abstraction, painters eleven. The influence of the group of seven extended far beyond landscape painting. Their bold color, expressive brushwork, and commitment to artistic independence inspired later generations to pursue new forms of modernism. In nineteen fifty-three, artists Oscar Kahn, Walter Yarwood, Harold Towne, and William Ronald began discussing the possibility of organizing an exhibition devoted entirely to abstract painting. They were soon joined by Alexandra Luke, Hortense Gordon, and several others, forming a group of eleven artists. Harold Town suggested the simple title Painter's Eleven, remarking, let's not go any further. We don't want to be a joke. Their first exhibition opened in 1954 at Roberts Gallery in Toronto, becoming the city's first major commercial exhibition devoted exclusively to non-objective painting. Rather than rejecting the legacy of the group of seven, painters eleven expanded it. Their landscapes became emotional fields of color, gesture, and movement. They retained the earlier group spirit of experimentation while responding to post-war ideas about science, psychology, technology, and international modernism. Now we get to the personalities of the Painters Eleven.

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Jack Bush, known as the disciplined colorist, is quiet and reserved.

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Jack Bush balanced a commercial illustration career with an intensely personal painting practice. Encouraged by critic Clement Greenberg, Bush developed luminous color fields, paintings whose broad bands of color replaced the gestural chaos of American abstract expressionism with calm clarity and emotional restraint. Oscar Kahn, the European modernist. Born in Denmark, Kahn fled Nazi Europe before settling in Canada. His cosmopolitan outlook introduced sophisticated European ideas into Canadian abstraction. His vibrant color and expressive forms suggested enormous creative potential, tragically cut short by his death in an automobile accident in 1956. Tom Hodgkinson, the Olympian, an Olympic sprint canoeist who represented Canada in nineteen fifty-two and fifty-six, Hodgkinson brought remarkable physical energy to his paintings. Thick layers of paint and monumental compositions reflected the strength and endurance that characterized both his athletic and artistic pursuits. Alexandra Luke, the energetic organizer. A student of Hans Hoffman, Alexandra Luc became one of the principal organizers of abstract art in Canada. Her expressive paintings embraced Hoffman's theories of the push and pull, while her exhibitions provided Canadian artists with opportunities to engage international modernism. Ray Meade, known as the Lyrical Minimalist. After serving in the Royal Air Force, Ray Meade immigrated to Canada, bringing with him an appreciation for British and French abstraction. His restrained color palettes and elegant spatial arrangements offered a quieter, more contemplative vision of abstraction.

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Jack Macdonald, the spiritual mentor.

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Jock MacDonald became the elder statesman of Painters Eleven. Having begun as a representational painter, he gradually embraced surrealism, automatism, and spiritual abstraction. His influence encouraged many younger artists to pursue fully non-objective painting. Kazu Nakamura, the quiet visionary. In turn during the Second World War, Kazu Nakamura approached painting with remarkable calm and discipline. His understated color, mathematical structures, and delicate line work contrasted sharply with the dramatic gestures of many of his contemporaries, creating deeply meditative works. William Ronald, the International Ambassador. Confident, ambitious, and energetic, William Ronald forged close relationships with the New York art world. He introduced influential critic Clement Greenberg to Toronto and actively promoted Canadian abstraction internationally. His paintings reflected the dynamic energy of American abstract expressionism while maintaining an independent Canadian voice. Harold Town, the brilliant individualist. Harold Towne was an articulate and fiercely independent artist. He believed Canadian artists could equal any international movement without abandoning their identity. His technically sophisticated mixed media works combined explosive energy with extraordinary craftsmanship.

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Walter Yarwood.

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Walter Yarwood gradually developed increasingly organic forms and textured surfaces before eventually turning towards sculpture. His paintings reveal an interest in natural growth and spiritual symbolism, extending abstraction into new directions. Conclusion The group of seven and painters eleven are often treated as opposing chapters in Canadian art history. When I see it in reality, that they represent successive generations pursuing the same fundamental ambition to create an authentic Canadian modernism. Their group of seven transformed the northern landscape into a symbol of national identity and spiritual experience. Painters Eleven carried that search inward, replacing mountains and forest with color, gesture, rhythm, and emotion. Together these artists shaped the course of twentieth century Canadian art. Their influence continues to be felt in contemporary painting, photography, film, design, and visual culture. By understanding the distinct personalities within each movement, we gain a richer appreciation of how individual vision and collective purpose combine to produce one of the most remarkable periods in Canadian artistic history. So thank you, Glorious Humanoids, for for listening to my my little essay on just the two groups that have fascinated me in Canadian art history. They I don't think have been have focused on enough internationally or even locally in in our communities. So I think just share this with whoever you think would love to learn a little bit more about our our wonderful country and and uh how how artists have chosen to represent our great Canadian identity.

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So thanks for tuning in all the way to the end.

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Bye.