The colours employed in "Spring Break-up, Spring 1917" are very similar compared to the previous post and "The Rapids Spring 1917". Tom was using the same palette of hues. The weather and location also look very similar.
Science and art require an open mind accepting facts only and being hesitant to believe anything else. Tom Thomson painted what he observed even down to the orientation of the snow drifts and ridges and the number of trees in each copse. Perhaps Creative Scene Investigation applied to the soul mate of "Spring Break-up, 1917" might reveal something about both works.
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Spring Break-up, Spring 1917
Oil on wood panel 8 7/16 x 10 1/2 in. (21.4 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size |
The following graphic matches the features included in "
The Rapids" with similar ones displayed in "
Spring Break-up". I employ different coloured fonts and arrows to match these characteristics. For example, each painting includes a single tree and a group of two trees in the same relative positions geographically. The front-lit cumulus clouds also appear in both paintings.
The following graphic remaps the vista view of the identified features and projects them on a top-down view similar to what one might see on a crude topographical map. This projection also suggests that given the lack of shadows included in "Spring Break-up, Spring 1917" the timing of this painting was close to solar noon.
The geography of the area around Mowat Lodge and the flow of the rapids suggests only one location that might match the terrain. That painting location is directly across Joe Creek from the likely location identified for "The Rapids Spring 1917". which was painted in the mid-morning hours on the west bank of Joe Creek. The weather conditions were very similar for both plein-air paintings.
The evidence suggests that after completing "The Rapids Spring 1917" in the mid-morning hours, Tom crossed to the eastern shore of Joe Creek to record "Spring Break-up, Spring 1917". It is probable that he crossed Joe Lake Dam to do so. The fast flow of Joe Creek would have made any ice crossing hazardous should there have been enough ice remaining. The sun would have been on Tom's left shoulder and there were no biting bugs. It would have been a wonderful midday plein air experience. This is an example of how Creative Scene Investigation might yield complementary information regarding different paintings should they have been indeed painted on the same day.
As mentioned in "
Tom Thomson's The Rapids Spring 1917", my Thomson friend also suggested rapids along the Oxtongue River downstream from Tea Lake Dam as possible locations for this painting. Tom certainly might have hiked the 5 kilometres down the Gilmour Road to Tea Lake Dam to paint. Paddling would have been a much easier trip but the lake was likely still iced in. The orientation of the Oxtongue River provides a score of more possibilities for the painting site given the above constraints. Did Tom make that spring walk down Gilmour Road to create a couple of paintings? Always open to positive suggestions!
As my Thomson friend observed: "I still favour below the Tea Lake dam as the best guess at a location though as you say we will never know for certain. I suppose farther down the Oxtongue is possible, but it's not obvious what sort of access he might have had in early spring conditions. The Gilmour road crossed the river at the Tea Lake dam then continued on away from the river more towards the east. Still, as you say, it is good to include possible alternatives." An open mind will always learn.
If conditions are favourable, a diligent and focussed plein air artist can easily complete four or more paintings in a day without even breaking a sweat. I have been known to finish a dozen canvases on particularly productive days when I was deep into the artistic zone.
Sadly, Tom did not indicate any sequential order in his artistic journey. His panels had no date or number and were shuffled like a huge deck of cards in the Studio Building. His artistic journey was actually progressively orderly and sequential as time and increasing experience mandate. However, the study of that shuffled deck of panels is more like a confused break dance with steps out of order or missing completely.
The first step in archiving any art journey would be to restore some sequential order to the paintings. Without some information, this is quite impossible or at least a huge challenge. My contributions with regard to these two paintings may be helpful but inconsequential in consideration of the 400 or so plein air panels that Tom produced over his too-brief artistic journey. Perhaps unfairly, I feel it is part of the artist’s responsibility to guide the patron along their journey. That trip can be a graceful waltz of discovery and learning and need not be chaotic missteps of a break-dance. Just saying.
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Tom Thomson and friends in Algonquin Park, October 1914
(left to right)
Tom, F.H. Varley, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur, Marjorie, and Esther Lismer.
Photograph likely taken by Maud Varley who was also there. |
The provenance of this particular painting is also very interesting. "Spring Break-up Spring 1917" would end up with the lady holding the baby in the accompanying image. Even baby Marjorie visited Algonquin Park in the autumn of 1914 to paint with the fledgling "Algonquin Group". Although the war in Europe had erupted in August, Thomson and A.Y. Jackson (1882–1974) met up for an early autumn canoe trip in Algonquin Park. When they returned to Mowat Lodge, Tom and A.Y. were joined by Arthur Lismer (1885–1969) and Fred Varley (1881–1969), along with their wives. The trip was the first occasion that three members of the future Group of Seven would paint together. It was also the only time that they would paint with Thomson. Tom was a real outdoors expert in their eyes and not just an artist. Lismer's wife Esther would end up with the painting upon his death in 1969 from whence it would go into a private collection in Montreal.
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Spring Break-up" as it would have appeared in
Tom Thomson's pochade box |
Inscription verso:
- in ink, Given to A. Lismer 1919 by Dr. MacCallum;
- Painted in Algonquin Park Spring of 1917
- Private Collection, Montreal
Provenance:
- Dr. J.M. MacCallum, Toronto
- Arthur Lismer, Toronto and Montreal
- Mrs. Esther Lismer, Montreal
- Private Collection, Montreal
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.
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