Tom Thomson's Petawawa Gorges; Night 1916

The application of Creative Scene Investigation (CSI) requires examining all the information. The data needs to be deciphered and mined for everything that it might reveal. My Thomson friend asked me to take a look at "Petawawa Gorges, Night, 1916". I had not included this painting in my "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman" book or presentation since even though it displayed a low horizon there was not much weather in it. There were far many more cloud paintings that required sleuthing. However, every painting is another opportunity to learn and investigate what really motivated Tom so here goes... 

I was well aware of the plein air painting but was very surprised at what a more than superficial look revealed. 

Petawawa Gorges, Night
Alternate titles: Coming of Night;
Sunset behind Cliff;
Fall 1916 Oil on wood 8 5/16 x 10 1/2 in. (21.1 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size

In late May 1916, Tom Thomson took a job as a fire ranger and reported to Achray, a park station at Grand Lake on the south branch of the Petawawa (now Barron) River. Tom worked with Edward Godin. Tom discovered that the fire ranger job got in the way of his art but he persevered hoping to get fired sooner or later.

Tom Thomson and Ed Godin August 1916 Canoe Trip

In August 1916, Thomson and Godin canoed from Achray on Grand Lake down the south branch of the Petawawa River to the Barron Canyon and then up the north branch of the river to Lake Traverse. Tom sketched 'The Capes' on the South Branch. The Capes are an old name for the highest point on the north wall of the Barron Canyon. On October 4th, Thomson was back at the Basin Depot. He left Algonquin to return to Toronto in late October or early November. This information was included in a letter from Ed Godin to Bronwyn Davies in 1930. 

I needed more information than this and perhaps I found it in "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916".

Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916
Oil on wood 8 7/16 x 10 7/16 in. (21.4 x 26.5 cm)
McMichael Canadian Art Collection,
 Kleinburg (1981.9.2)

Tom's patron Dr. J.M. MacCallum (1860-1943) pencilled Petawawa October 1916 on the back of "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916". Tom had paddled the area in August so he was aware of the striking beauty of the gorge and probably returned after his forest ranging was done for the season. Tom had written to Dr. MacCallum saying: "Have done very little sketching this summer as the two jobs don't fit in. ... When we are travelling two go together, one for canoe and the other the pack. And there's no place for a sketch outfit when you're fire ranging."

Lord Rayleigh won the Nobel Prize for Physics
in 1904 for discovering argon gas

The light in "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916" revealed the facts behind its creation. Around midday on the Petawawa, the sun is high but in the southern sky. The sun near its highest angular elevation appears blindingly white while the sky is light blue. The direct beam from the sun travels through a minimum amount of the atmosphere. Even so, the shortest wavelengths of light is Rayleigh scattered by atmospheric molecules. That scattered light eventually is directed to our eyes and we see the sky as a light blue. That is the colour that Tom saw and recorded in Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916. 

The real story can be found in the shadows. The northward-facing side of the deep Petawawa Gorge would never see the direct beam from the sun. The shadowed wall of the gorge is our sundial and compass in this application of CSI. Tom was certainly looking easterly when he observed "Petawawa Gorges Fall 1916". 

Now let's compare these two paintings, both with "Petawawa Gorge" in their name. 

The silhouetted trees in "Night" match closely with those from the midday painting. Tom's sketch location was probably further back in the painting on the right but the direction of view is similar. Plein air artists are not cameras so Tom was possibly standing in nearly the same location but decided to compose the art differently. The freedom of expression enjoyed by artists permits much more flexibility over that of photographers constrained by the reality of the light. 

Use your Coriolis hand to visualize the rotation of
the Earth and the apparent changes in the location
of the stationary sun.
Hint: Use your right hand with your thumb
pointing up at the north pole. Your fingers then
curl in the direction of the Earth's rotation.

In any event, "Petawawa Gorges, Night" reaffirms that Tom was a morning person. The painting is actually of a sunrise looking toward the dawn and not a sunset as identified in the catalogue raisonné. The orange and pink hues of the rising sun were striking and worthy of being recorded in oils but can easily be confused with those of sunset. As I have recorded elsewhere, sunsets within the same air mass, tend to be more red than sunrise. The increased quantities of particulates dispersed into the lowest layers of air during the day by turbulent wind mixing and thermal convection are responsible for scattering more blue light out of the direct beam. at sunset. 

Tom was certainly looking toward the light of the sun. The glint of light from the water's surface also confirms this view. As well there was no darker "Belt of Venus" evident so Tom was not looking away from the light source (see "Tom Thomson's “A Northern Lake" Was the Belt of Venus Sunrise" for an explanation). 

The sunrise easterly view can be surmised by the science of light scattering as described but was certainly strengthened by comparison with other similar paintings that include the shadowed cliffs. There are several Thomson paintings of the Petawawa Gorge and the shadows are invariably on the steep slopes to the right revealing easterly views. The light of daytime is an excellent sundial and allows one to quickly discern the direction of view. 

The "fallout" from Creative Scene Investigation requires that "Petawawa Gorges, Night" along with the alternate titles "Sunset behind Cliff" and the "The Coming of the Night" need to be revised. The reality is that Thomson was a morning person and this painting was certainly a sunrise observation of light and shapes. 

After Tom's passing, "Petawawa Gorges, Night" was acquired by Vincent Massey in 1918 who later bequeathed the sketch to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (15548) in 1968. Charles Vincent Massey (1887-1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor-general of Canada who was born in Canada after Confederation.

More than a hundred years have passed since Tom's premature death, so one can never have all of the facts. It would have been wonderful just to have asked Tom where he was and why he painted what he did. Continued exploration might reveal more evidence that could find CSI either right or wrong. It is our mission to gather all of the puzzle pieces that one possibly can. I certainly lament that Thomson could have saved a lot of scientific guessing if he only had jotted down a few details. 

With these thoughts, I recalled the work of Diana and Bob McElroy and their determined investigations while paddling in the footsteps of Tom Thomson - especially within the Petawawa Gorge. I had never stroked that waterway, so I decided to consult with the experts. Those amazing results will be revealed in the next Blog. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

PS: Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman - Summary As of Now contains all of the entries to date.