August 3, 2018, Kleinburg, ON– On August 7, 2018, nine guests will join McMichael Executive Director Ian Dejardin on the ultimate Group of Seven Road trip, a 700-kilometre tour of Lake Superior’s North Shore. The group will walk the the Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail which connects painting sites from Pukaskwa National Park to Neys Provincial Park, to experience the same, unspoiled natural beauty that inspired the Group of Seven almost 100 years ago. The guided tour will examine the views that inspired Canada’s greatest painters while standing exactly where they stood when painting some of Canada’s most iconic works.
The Group of Seven virtuosos looked to the raw beauty of the Ontario landscape to inspire and invigorate their most legendary works. Guests will visit the sites of A.J. Casson’s Morning on Key River, Lawren Harris’s Pic Island, and J.E.H. MacDonald’s Algoma Waterfall. Journeying back in time, the group will visit A.Y. Jackson’s cabin with award-winning artist David Wells, and experience the breathtaking, rugged mystique of Northern Ontario that captivated the imaginations of the original Group of Seven.
‘As a Scottish enthusiast for the work of the Group of Seven, I freely confess that almost my entire experience of the astonishing beauty and variety of the landscape of Ontario is derived from their gorgeous paintings,” said Ian Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. “It’s about time I witnessed the breathtaking reality of the painted landscapes I love so much. I can’t wait.”
The McMichael prides itself on being the spiritual home of the art of Canada, in particular the work of the Group of Seven, and aims to preserve and celebrate their wonderful legacy for future generations.
About the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is an agency of the Government of Ontario and acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and the McMichael Canadian Art Foundation. It is the foremost venue in the country showcasing the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. In addition to touring exhibitions, its permanent collection consists of over 6,500 artworks by Canadian artists, including paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists. The gallery is located on 100 acres of northern landscape and hiking trails at 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, north of Major Mackenzie Drive in the City of Vaughan. For more information: mcmichael.com.
*THE ART OF CANADA is an official mark of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
About the Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail
The Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail is a land trail motivated by the same, unspoiled nature beauty that inspired the Group of Seven almost 100 years ago. Ultimately connecting the painting sites from Pukaskwa National Park to Neys Provincial Park, you will be able to walk in their footsteps and see the original landscape that they captured on canvas. Returning for nine painting seasons to the Marathon area, the landscape of the Northshore of Lake Superior was their inspiration which helped define the Canadian identify. This project is being proposed in partnership between Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (Ojibways of the Pic River) and the Marathon Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
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Media Contacts:
Sam Cheung
Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2210
scheung@mcmichael.com
Nick Foglia
Director, Communications, Marketing and Sales
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
905.893.1121 ext. 2265
nfoglia@mcmichael.com