Thursdays

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

7/22, 7/29, 8/5, 8/12, 8/19 & 8/26

Six Sessions 

This course is offered online via the easy-to-use Zoom program.

Canada’s modernist art in the early twentieth century, especially the landscapes of the Group of Seven and their close associates Tom Thomson and Emily Carr, played an important role in defining the young nation. Artists David Milne and the women of Montreal’s Beaver Hall Group also achieved prominence.

The course looks at these artists and their art at a time when recent commemorations of the centennial of the Group of Seven’s original 1920 Toronto show have brought forth contemporary exhibitions, scholarship and publications.

The Group of Seven’s bright colors and bold brushstrokes evoking the northern “spirit of Canada” continue to captivate appreciative audiences and deep-pocketed collectors. These friends backpacked, canoed and trekked through our vast northern neighbor while sketching and painting the landscape.

In addition to class discussions and wide use of video clips, documentary films will be shown:

•Painted Land, In Search of the Group of Seven

•Emily Carr, A Woman of All Sorts

•West Wind, The Vision of Tom Thomson

•Where the Universe Sings, The Spiritual Journey of Lawren Harris

Ralph Pearson has taught previous OLLI courses focused on landscape art, especially the Hudson River School. Frequently exploring Canada while visiting relatives and leading tours there, his familiarity with the north woods has led to enthusiastic enjoyment of its art. He holds degrees from Cornell in Hotel Administration and SUNY Buffalo in Political Science, and has spent most of the last three decades leading group tours worldwide.

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