The Group’s time in Algoma and along the North Shore of Lake Superior produced paintings that represented the pinnacle of their careers and that became cherished icons of Canadian art. It is impossible to look at a windswept pine or the shining waters of our Great Lakes and inland waterways without thinking of their trailblazing vision of Canada.
Their work was and is recognized both nationally and internationally. In 1924 the Group’s canvases were featured as part of Canada’s contribution to the British Empire Exhibition at Wembly, England. In the early 1950’s the National Gallery of Canada sponsored a series of silkscreen reproductions of select paintings created by the Group members that graced the walls of community halls and schools throughout the country and provided an introduction to paintings that have become etched in our collective psyche.
In 1933, the painters decided to dramatically widen their circle to reflect new realities, and thus the Canadian Group of Painters (CGP) was born. The CGP, with Lawren Harris as their first president, could boast of members, male and female, from coast to coast and proved to be one of the driving forces behind the popularization of art in Canada.
Algoma and the North Shore of Lake Superior are still that vast, natural wonder that gave form and substance to the visions of these artists and like the paintings themselves, the land is an enduring and integral part of our national heritage.
