I have never included this painting in "Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman". But there is a very interesting story behind this small scrap of wood just shy of 5 by 7 inches in dimensions. Perhaps Tom was running out of panels that last spring but why he would employ this tiny piece of wood is still in question. The marvel is that Thomson included so much within the size of a postcard. The back story is interesting and the meteorology reinforces what has been revealed in other works. Review and repetition can be beneficial and you just might be amazed.
Tom neither named nor signed his 62 paintings from the last six frenetic weeks of creativity. Only 35 of these plein air efforts are included in the official, authenticated works of 1917. When his friends attempted to organize and title those paintings, they picked what looked to be the obvious subject and added another element and perhaps the season to try to differentiate a particular painting from another. The words "snow", "spring", "winter", "woods" and "thaw" were used repeatedly in this valiant effort. This painting used three of those words.
It must have been a real challenge to sort through Tom's panels. The names "Birches Spring" and "Northern Lights" were both used twice for different paintings among the 35 plein air works from April and May up at Mowat Lodge. I supplement the name of my paintings with a chronological number thus side-stepping this issue - and I have even mistakenly used the same title more than once. The number of each painting is always unique though.
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| Winter Thaw Spring 1917 Oil on wood panel 4 15/16 x 6 7/8 in. (12.5 x 17.5 cm) At nearly 5x7 inches this panel is much smaller than Tom's normal Paint Box Size 8.5 by 10.5 inches |
It is often challenging to reconcile the 1917 painting locations with the maps and geography of the day. The forests have recovered and grown back over the last century making the scenes often unrecognizable within the current geography. Sometimes an approximate location might be estimated from another painting. Thankfully, I focus on science and await the expert opinions of others who might know for certain. For the time being, I only wish to suggest plausible guesses. I was not there standing beside Thomson although wouldn't that have been fun!
As has been established, Tom did not travel far from Mowat Lodge that last spring making this task of finding the painting location a bit easier. The ice was not safe to walk across given the currents from Potter and Joe Creeks. There was not enough water to paddle in.
The north basin of Canoe Lake was still ice covered. Some patches of darker ground that sloped toward the south were clear of snow. The marsh in the middle right looked to have cattails that had been beaten about by the winter winds.
I suspect that Tom just walked to the lakeshore directly in front of Mowat Lodge. Tom was a morning person and the conditions were perfect for a plein air outing. There would have been no biting bugs as well.
The late winter sky might be simply dismissed. The grey clouds looked like everyday meteorology but even in this tiny panel, Thomson strove to depict exactly what he saw. Tom was looking at the advancing deck of cloud but even then he carefully alternated bands of brighter white with pale sky colours. To understand what Tom was observing requires a graphic - even a clunky one I can construct. Looking up through a cloud layer versus looking at an approaching cloud deck are very different perspectives of the same story. 
These regular bands were swells in the altostratus layer of the warm conveyor belt. The whiter bands of cloud correspond to areas of thicker concentrations of cloud droplets in areas of ascent. The bands in between are tinted by pale shades of blue and green - the sky colours breaking through lower concentrations of cloud droplets within areas of descent.
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| Gravity waves viewed from a distance merge into undiscernible bands. The wave crests can be better resolved as the viewing angle becomes more vertical. |
The light was not bright enough to cast significant shadows. Overcast cirrostratus was probably clouding the sky. Morning would be as good a guess as any without obvious shadows to employ as a sundial. Morning illumination would also be more likely to provide the necessary front-lighting required to brighten those atmospheric swells.
The following graphic summarizes what might be gleaned from a tiny image the size of a postcard. The genius of Tom Thomson is revealed by his ability to accomplish so much in so little a space.
These observations place Tom on the northwestern shore of the north basin of Canoe Lake a couple of hundred yards east of Mowat Lodge. Tom was under the leading edge of the warm conveyor belt of a weather system - the yellow star in the following graphic. He was looking southerly at swells in the altostratus layer of the stable anticyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt. Tom did not observe any wind gravity waves embedded in the cloud patterns so the col of the deformation zone was probably just to his west. The warm front and possible virga were still some distance away to the southwest.
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| The yellow star within the oval was the probable location of Tom Thomson in the context of the Mid-Latitude Synoptic Scale Weather System. |
As suggested by the title, the ice and snow were melting. Rain is an effective way to eliminate snow cover and ice. Water percolates through the snow and upon freezing, releases the heat of fusion into the snowpack much like a Trojan Horse. The precipitation anticipated with the approaching weather system could have been in the form of rain and thus hasten the thaw mentioned in the title.
This painting does not bear the "TT-1917" estate stamp and among several others (perhaps up to 35), went directly into the possession of Tom's father John upon his passing in the summer of 1917. Of the paintings that went into his father's possession, each of Tom's siblings received ten works. This particular painting went to Tom's sister Minnie (1875-1960) as part of her share. A July 22, 1917 letter from Margaret to Minnie Thomson is well worth reading and puts the story of Tom Thomson into perspective.
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| "Winter Thaw" as it might have appeared in Tom Thomson's Paint Box. It is uncertain how the postcard-sized painting was held in the box while he painted. There are indications that the painting was slid into carrying slots on the short side. Perhaps Tom built a box to hold 7-inch wide panels... I have constructed several such devices... |
- Estate of the artist
- John Thomson (Tom's Father)
- Minnie Thomson (Mrs. William) Henry, Saskatoon
- George M. Thomson, Brantford, 1956
- Ian M. Thomson, by descent
- Private collection, Ontario, early 1970s
- Joyner Toronto, November 20, 2007, lot 23
- Private Collection, Toronto
In November 2007, "Winter Thaw" was sold for $1,463,500 Canadian dollars. For artists who price their art by surface area (for simplicity), that amounts to $6690.29 per square centimetre or $43, 163.05 per square inch.
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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