...
This year we relied
on the arts to uplift 
us, connect us, and
inspire us more than ever
The visual, performing,
and written arts tell 
our province's story,
and keeps our past 
alive. The Group of Seven
were amongst the 
first Canadian artists
to capture the natural
wonders of our home.
Their iconic landscapes,
striking colours, and
dynamic shapes have
us in, and sparked our
imaginations for 100 years.
Artists continue to enrich our
lives, promote creativity and
innovation and contribute
to our economy.
I encourage all Albertans
to support local artists,
galleries, theatres,
and venues in any 
way that you can.
We will need the support 
now; more than ever
so that they can tell 
our story for the next
100 years and beyond.
...
Hello - my name is Catherine
Crowston, and I am the
Executive Director and Chief
Curator here at the Art Gallery
of Alberta. It is my pleasure to
welcome you to this special 
preview of our most
recent exhibition: 100 Years: 
The Group of Seven and
Other Voices, presented
by Capital Power.
2020 marks the 100th
anniversary of the famous 
Canadian group of artists,
known as The Group of Seven. 
The Group of Seven formed
in Toronto in 1920, and was 
Canada's first self-proclaimed
organization of modern artists.
...
The original 7 members of the
Group befriended each other 
in the years between 1911
and 1913, and at that time
their circle included Tom
Thomson who was an
an integral and influential
force, but was never actually
a member of the Group
itself due to his death in 1917
It was only after their first
exhibition at the Art Museum 
of Toronto (now the Art Gallery
of Ontario) in May of 1920
that the Group first presented
themselves as a unified
collective. To the outrage
of the artistic establishment
at the time, these artists
shifted their work away from
close imitation of nature
in painting - toward a more
evocative expression of
emotion and mood, with
vibrant colours, brushwork
and rugged wilderness scenes. 
This exhibition: 100 Years
The Group of Seven and Other
Voices features paintings by
Tom Thomson and the 10 
members of Canada's of
the Group from the AGA 
collection. The exhibition also
includes work by other artists 
who were mentors, colleagues
and students of Group
members, as well as
some who worked entirely 
independent of their
influence, to offer a more 
expansive view of Canadian
art from this time period.
The exhibition was curated
by Danielle Siemens, the
Collections Manager and
Curatorial Associate here at
the AGA, who will talk a little
bit about a few of the works
in the exhibition and give
you an introduction
to these wonderful artists.
...
So we're going to start our
preview tour with these two
paintings by Tom Thompson.
Now contrary to popular
belief, Tom Thompson wasn't
an official member of the 
group. However he
was very important to
to their early years. And
he was very influential in 
his style and approach to
the landscape. Now we're 
this painting on the bottom,
it's titled “November” and
it's from 1913. This
painting here might not 
have the bold, expressive
colours that we're used to
seeing from the group, but
it's a really nice example of
their early development. 
If you get up close, you can
see rough, quick brush work.
So you really get the sense of 
this capturing a fleeting
moment in time. The colour 
palette is muted and really
quite dark and moody, giving 
us the sense of the
changing seasons in the fall
on a cool autumn day.
...
So now we're going
to look at a work by
Arthur Lismer, it's
entitled “Winter”, and it
comes from 1920. Lismer,
like most of his Group
of Seven colleagues started his
career in commercial graphic
art, and you really get a sense
of his design sensibility in the
carefully laid out composition.
So you have this lone tree in
the foreground that really
draws your eye in and a clearly
delineated mid-ground
and background.
With these kind of curvilinear
lines that draw your eye
into and throughout
the image.
He was also working in
an expressionistic style, so
If you get up real close,
you can see these rough,
quick little brush strokes and
this really bold sense of colour
and light. So you can get a
sense of the light reflecting
from the snow in the foreground
in the foreground tree
as well as this really
bright orange which gives us
the sense of a winter sunset.
And this lends itself to what 
the Group of Seven was trying
to cultivate: this idea that
landscape was uninhabited
and ripe for exploration.
So I hope that you can make
it down to the AGA to see this 
exhibition: 100 years, the
Group of Seven and Other 
Voices which is sponsored
by Capital Power.
...
From stunning mountains to
everlasting bright blue prairie
skies, we are extremely lucky
as Albertans to be surrounded
by some of the greatest
natural views in the world.
I think we've all looked to
nature to ground and uplift
ourselves, be it spending
time wandering the river 
valley or gathering around
a fire with those closest to us 
nature truly has a way of
inspiring us, reminding us of
what's important and calming
our most pressing concerns.
COVID-19 is no small concern
and has greatly challenged our
way of life, but as a
community, I continue to be
inspired by the ways and
means we, as resilient 
Edmontonians and Albertans,
have found to support each
other and continue to find
joy together,  including 
retreating to nature as
we enjoy the remaining sunny
skies of summer.  On
behalf of Capital Power
I invite you to experience
Canada's natural treasures 
through the eyes of Canada's
preeminent 20th century
landscape artists: The Group
of Seven. Together with your
Art Gallery of Alberta, Capital
Power is pleased to present 
the 100 Years: The Group of 
even and Other Voices exhibit
from August 29th to March 13th.
Come to your Art Gallery of
Alberta and escape in the 
visions of exceptional
artists and safely take
time to enjoy ourselves.
Thank you.
.
