The HRI welcomes Ross King.

The Backwoods and the Boulevards: The Group of Seven and International Modernism

In 1914 A.Y. Jackson believed he and his new friends – Tom Thomson and the future members of the Group of Seven – could forge a new ‘Canadian School’ by painting in the country’s most inhospitable regions. However, many of these young artists were at least as well-served by their artistic training and familiarity with trends in modern art as they were by their outdoor exertions in the Canadian wilderness. This artistic training (including in European studios) helped them to interpret the landscape of the northern woods, making them a uniquely Canadian combination of the backwoods and the boulevards. This illustrated lecture will examine the impact of these eclectic artistic and geographical influences.

Date: October 25, 2011

Time: 7:00pm

Book signing and reception to follow.

Location: Education Auditorium

All Welcome!!

Ross King was raised in North Portal and went to school in Estevan before doing a BA (Hons.) and Masters in the English Department at the University of Regina. He did a Ph.D. at York University and post-graduate work at the University of London before becoming a full-time writer. He has published six books, including two novels and works on Italian and French art. Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven was published in conjunction with an exhibition he curated at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in 2010.