Tom Thomson's Sunset, Summer 1915

Tom woke up with a start at sunrise on Monday, May 24th, 2015. The sunrise light coming in the window of his second-story room at Mowat Lodge was most unusual. The colours were unlike anything he had seen before. Tom grabbed his paint box and hurried to the shore of Canoe Lake to make a weather observation... but I am getting way ahead of myself. Please let me explain. 

Sunset
Alternate title: Sunset II
Summer 1915
Oil on wood panel 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in.
(21.3 x 26.7 cm) Tom's Paint Box Size

Sometimes Creative Scene Investigation can be challenging. It is important to keep one's mind open to the obvious facts even if written history says otherwise. The puzzle pieces must be carefully assembled to complete the picture. The obvious preconceived solution to this painting had to be reconsidered from the ground up (so to speak) to solve this painting. 

J.E.H. MacDonald and Lawren Harris met in the Studio Building in the spring of 1918. Tom's paintings from the Shack had been stacked in the Studio Building. Harris and MacDonald planned to sort through Tom's art, make comments on the back and distribute what they felt were the best examples of his genius.  "Sunset, Alternate title: Sunset II" was one of those panels and displays the distinctive "TT Estate Stamp". They were correct about the quality of the art but missed the real story behind this painting. 

At first glance, the strong sky colours were characteristically bright and bold like "sunset". The distant shore and ridges were devoid of colour as one would expect in the evening. Tom was certainly looking toward the sun but was the sun really setting as both the title and alternate title suggest?

The clouds were very rich hues of pink, orange and red. The cloud-free areas were even yellow and green. There was no blue to be seen in that sky at all! Some of Tom's friends suggested that he was greatly exaggerating his Algonquin colours. I think not and can explain why. 

The clincher in understanding this painting is to first establish the location and direction of view. The far shore of the lake was very dark and devoid of colour suggesting strongly that it was back-lit. The sun had to be behind those hills. As a result, if this was sunset, Tom had to be looking west. But let us consider what the terrain was saying. 

Matching the hills and ridges in Tom's painting to those of the Canoe Lake terrain map suggests that Tom was actually looking east-southeastward across the northern basin of Canoe Lake. 

Further corroborating evidence can be discovered by comparing other Thomson paintings of the eastern shore of Canoe Lake. The similarities in the silhouettes of the distant forest and hills are unmistakable. The following graphic compares two paintings completed on very different days in 1915 but both exhibit the same details. Tom was looking eastward at a rising sun that morning. 

Everything about this painting screams it as a sunset observation. J.E.H. MacDonald and Lawren Harris reacted as most people would and dubbed it as an obvious "sunset" painting in the spring of 1918. The sky was ablaze with typical sunset colours. Other paintings from 1915 and even 1916 use similar colours and they were painted at sunset. See Tom Thomson's "Sunset" 1915 and Tom Thomson's Spring Sunset, Algonquin Park Spring 1916 as just a few examples of Tom's colour choices. How can this work be anything else but a sunset? It takes a volcanic eruption in northern California to provide the answer to that question. 

Creative Scene Investigation suggested the timing of this painting as May 24th, 1915, two days after the eruption of Lassen Peak. It takes a couple of days to spread the sulphate aerosols from northern California to eastern North America. In addition, Tom did not like to paint while being bitten by ferocious black flies which typically start feasting in the last week of May - although Tom likely would have made an exception and endured the bugs given this inspirational sunrise. 

The following graphic greatly exaggerates the scales to explain the optics of this sunrise. The graphic is viewed looking down at the rotating Earth from the vantage of the North Pole. From the Earthly perspective, the sun rises over the eastern horizon as the Earth itself spins. The direct beam of light from the sun 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) away passes through a long path of atmosphere before illuminating the scene. Rayleigh scattering by atmospheric molecules and the tiny volcanic sulphate aerosols remove the blue wavelengths from the beam. The blue light is Rayleigh scattered in all directions. The remaining longer wavelengths of light illuminate the clouds comprised of much larger particles. Mie scattering efficiently distributes the green, yellow and red light in a forward direction to any observer who might be watching - in this situation, it was Tom Thomson. 

The colours that Tom observed and recorded are explained in the following graphic in terms of Rayleigh and Mie scattering. The yellow and green cloud-free portions of the sky resulted from some aerosols being a bit larger than atmospheric molecules and thus scattering longer wavelengths like green and yellow. The blue wavelengths from the sun had already been scattered out of the beam.

The cumulus cloud elements appear brighter in their centres with darker edges. Bright centres and dark edges are the defining characteristics of front-lit clouds. In this case, the darker edges are an artifact of how Tom kept his oils clean and unmixed. Tom often left generous safety margins separating dissimilar colours so that the contrasting colours could not touch one another and would remain unmixed. The wood panel has darkened with age thus outlining the bright clouds. Regardless, these clouds were back-lit. The large cloud particles Mie scattered the light forward from the sun while it was still below the horizon. 

The cloud types and structure add the final bits of information to the Creative Scene Investigation of "Sunset, Summer 1915". These details are explained in the following graphic. The structure of the cloud was created by the warm conveyor belt and allows us to place Tom within the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model of a mid-latitude, synoptic scale storm. 

Satellite View Looking down on the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model. Thomson was located
near the leading edge of the warm conveyor belt (WCB) looking easterly at the sunrise. 

The following images are ground-based photographs I took looking eastward at warm conveyor belts similar to what Thomson observed. Tom painted reality! There were no recent volcanic eruptions on the days that I took these images.

A similar warm conveyor belt with brighter sunrise colours. Science can be beautiful. 

This painting was from the spring of 1915 before the biting bugs emerged.... it was probably just a few days after May 22nd, 1915 in fact - I am guessing that May 24th was the exact date but it is possible. That forecast was based on sulphate aerosols, volcanic ash and bugs. Thomson spent his summers fishing anyway.

This painting really needs to be renamed as something like "Brilliant Spring Sunrise after Lassen Peak". Thomson would not have heard about the California volcanic eruption while in the backwoods of Algonquin so that part would not have appeared in any title. However, something is needed to distinguish this from the other sunrise paintings. That also explains why I supplement the name of my art with a chronological number which has to be unique. 

Sunset
Alternate title: Sunset II
Summer 1915
Oil on wood panel 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in.
(21.3 x 26.7 cm) Tom's Paint Box Size

What motivated Tom to record this weather observation? Tom must have been shocked to see the colours of the sunrise reaching into his bedroom window. I can imagine Tom grabbing his paint box and rushing out to the shore of Canoe Lake to chase the sunrise light before it disappeared. That is why artists paint... we all chase the light in amazement at the beauty of nature ... and the weather. The warm conveyor belt was probably headed northeastward and the bulk of the weather would have missed Canoe Lake. 

Tom might not have understood all of the science and would certainly have not known that Lassen's Peak had just exploded - but he was truthful to what he saw. In that way, the science must also be accurate. Tom was amazed by the light streaming into his bedroom window. Tom was also a morning person... let's get going with the sun. Rise and shine.

No one can say when, but it is certain that Lassen Peak will experience volcanic eruptions again. Volcanologists know that the 1915 eruption occurred after a dormancy of about 27,000 years so do not expect the next eruption anytime soon although it could be tomorrow. 

Inscription recto: 

• l.r., estate stamp 

Inscription verso:

• c., estate stamp; 
• u.l., in graphite, Sunset; 
• in graphite, u.r.q., Reserved – Mackenzie[sic]; 
• in graphite, 
• l.r., No. 29 (19?) Mrs. Harkness / Mrs. Williams McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg (1966.16.69) 

Provenance:

• Estate of the artist 
• Elizabeth Thomson Harkness, Annan and Owen Sound 
• S.J. Williams, Kitchener, Ontario, 1926 
• Mrs. S.J. Williams, Preston, Ontario, by 1937 
• Esther Williams, Preston and Toronto by 1941 
• Laing Galleries, Toronto, 1960? 
• Robert and Signe McMichael, Kleinburg 
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg (1966.16.69). 
• Gift of the founders, Robert and Signe McMichael, 1966

Remarks: Mrs. S.J. Williams was also one of the donors of Split Rock, Georgian Bay, Winter 1914–15 (1914-1915.01)

Why does any of this science matter? The magic of nature which is described by science was certainly important to Thomson. To omit this information in any investigation of Thomson's art is to ignore the essence of the man. Just sayin'.

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. 

PSS: Should you wish to have Creative Scene Investigation applied to one of Thomson's works that I have not yet included in this Blog, please let me know. It may already be completed but not yet posted. In any event, I will move your request to the top of the list. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! 

Tom Thomson's Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, 1915

J.E.H. MacDonald and Lawren Harris met in the Studio Building in the spring of 1918. Tom's paintings from the Shack had been stacked in the Studio Building. Harris and MacDonald planned to sort through Tom's art, make comments on the back and distribute what they felt were the best examples of his genius.  "Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, 1915" was one of those panels and displays the distinctive "TT Estate Stamp". They were correct about the quality of the art but there is a story they apparently missed. This was an early spring painting!

Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park
Alternate title: Canoe Lake Summer 1915
Oil on composite wood-pulp board 8 9/16 x 10 9/16 in.
(21.8 x 26.9 cm). Tom's Paint Box Size

Canoe Lake was correctly identified in the title but that fact can also be verified by Creative Scene Investigation (CSI). Tom did not have to travel far to find something inspirational to paint. This view is only a short stroll from the front porch of Mowat Lodge to the western shore of Canoe Lake. The sun was rising in the eastern sky and terrain features of the eastern shore of Canoe Lake can be readily identified on Tom's panel. 

After location, the next important factor to decipher in CSI is time. When was Tom making this observation? The illumination of the scene can only be explained by an early morning time frame perhaps a couple of hours after dawn. Please let me explain. 

The rich hues of early morning light illuminating the clouds are orange as contrasted with the blues of mid-morning. The sunlight had already been filtered by Rayleigh scattering removing the blue wavelengths from the direct beam. The sunlight was still passing through a significantly long path of the Earth's atmosphere but had risen enough to touch the tops of the convective cloud elements. The blue evident through the gap in the clouds is the result of Rayleigh scattering from atmospheric molecules higher in the sky.

The clouds can also verify this timing. An arrow that connects the dark base of one of the convective elements with the bright cloud top of the same cloud must point toward the sun. My COMET coworkers could easily make a three-dimensional arrow that would make this fact come alive but I must ask you to use your imagination. The sun was somewhere to the upper right of the panel and either hidden by clouds or beyond the panel itself -probably the latter. 

The sky was full of streets of turbulent stratocumulus (SC). In fact, the horizon appeared to be overcast with clouds as the lines merge. The individual cumulus elements reveal a component of the wind from right to left which must be southerly. What Tom could not paint was the component of wind coming directly toward him. Turbulent stratocumulus develops in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) of the atmosphere and must align parallel to the wind direction. The process is similar to oceanic Langmuir Streaks where helical circulations interact creating areas of ascent separated by bands of descent. If the PBL of the atmosphere is somewhat unstable, streets of stratocumulus develop in the ascending bands. Bands of clear clear skies separate the cloudy streets in the areas of descent. 

Streets of stratocumulus (SC) are very common and can tell a lot about the weather situation.  Tom was a remarkable observer of reality and included subtle cloud features even in what appeared to be bold and brash brush strokes. Tom’s paintings are as accurately detailed as the photo of reality. I happened to take a photo of a similar situation that also includes the subtleties that Tom painted. 

Turbulent stratocumulus (SC) without significant mid or high cloud associated is typically located in two sectors of a mid-latitude weather system. The first is the situation where Tom was painting that early morning of 1915. The high-pressure centre had just passed to the east. The airmass would be unstable in the low level with plenty of sunshine. The low-level flow would be drawn into the warm conveyor belt of the next approaching weather system. Streets of turbulent stratocumulus would align with the southeasterly winds. As the warm conveyor belt nears, the streets of SC must veer to blow from the south and the probability of mid and high clouds associated with the WCB also increases. 

The second location for turbulent stratocumulus (SC) is behind the cold front after the system has passed. Those winds would be westerly to northwesterly in direction and associated with the advection of cold air across the region. 

Deviation from the suggested location at number 2 toward the north increases the probability of "hang-back" mid and high-level clouds in the comma head of the weather pattern. Deviation toward the south enters the anticyclonic companion of the descending dry conveyor belt (DCB). The air becomes increasingly drier and descends even in the planetary boundary level (PBL). Cloud is less likely. 

Nature also provided some other very important clues in this painting. 

Aspen are the first trees to pioneer such a ravaged environment as was the case around Canoe Lake after the Gilmour Lumber Company failed. The trembling aspen that stood on the edge of Canoe Lake were sprouting their spring catkins. Aspen actually spread fastest from their roots but still produce seeds and white silky stands for reproduction. Those white splotches on the eastern shore and up the hillside were actually the early spring catkins from the trembling aspen. These trees that find a foothold after clearcutting were also described in "Spring, Algonquin Park, Spring 1916". Catkins emerge in early April in Algonquin Park clearly suggesting that the alternate title mentioning "summer" was misguided. 

The accompanying photo shows a stand of ghostly white trembling aspen in late April on the shore of the Ottawa River. The trees are very similar to what Tom would have witnessed at Canoe Lake in mid-April and what he also painted in "Spring, Algonquin Park, Spring 1916" (inset image). The seasons are more advanced to the southwest explaining the budding of the catkins a couple of weeks earlier at Mowat Lodge on Canoe Lake.  

All that glitters is not gold and all that is white is not snow. Those vertical brush strokes of white certainly can't be snow! They were the early April catkins of trembling aspen also called the 'mother-in-law's tongue' tree since the slightest breeze sets the leaves to quivering - but that is another story. 

Finally, the wave action across the north basin of Canoe Lake also confirms the south-easterly winds. There were no obvious white caps on the sheltered eastern side of the lake. The waves gradually increase in amplitude with the fetch across the lake. The waves build in size until the wind reaches 30 kmh which is sufficient to blow them over creating the bubbly foam of white caps. 

                                                                                  

The colours that Tom selected for the mid-lake area appear to reflect the cloud bases in the early morning light. Tom would have had the colour mixed on his palette so it would have been an easy observation to brush in. 

Tom's brushwork on this panel was characteristically bold. He dragged brushes loaded with oils into areas he had already touched, mixing the colours as his brush progressed across the panel. One stroke is highlighted in the graphic. Other strokes swirl and scribble the pigments around in turbulent eddies reflecting the dynamics of the clouds. The swath of blue sky that separates streets of turbulent stratocumulus even exhibits vigorous brushwork as he covered the panel with oils. 

Harris and MacDonald made a great effort to establish the reputation of their friend in the international art scene. Without their dedication, Tom might have easily remained unknown and ignored as so many artists endure. They made some errors in naming, locating and dating Tom's towering stack of panels. That is completely understandable. They were probably also saddened when the "TT Estate Stamp" caused some paint to flake off the wooden panels. Tom could have assisted greatly if he had only signed his art and included just a few details about his motivation to record those particular moments in nature. 

Patron Dr. James MacCallum funded the Thomson Estate Stamp which was designed by MacDonald

Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, 1915
as it would have appeared in
Tom Thomson's Paint Box

Inscription verso: 

• c., estate stamp; in ink, Painted in 1915; 
• u.m., in graphite, TT 73; 
• label, Laing Art Galleries, Toronto as Canoe Lake; 
• below label, No. 118 Mrs. Harkness Thomson Collection @ Art Gallery of Ontario 

Provenance:

• Elizabeth Thomson Harkness, Annan and Owen Sound;
• Dr. G.H. Henderson, Halifax, 1939;
• Laing Galleries, Toronto;
• Private collection, Toronto;
• Thomson Collection @ Art Gallery of Ontario

This painting went to Tom's older sister "Lizzie", Elisabeth (Elizabeth) Harkness (abt. 1870 - 1934). After Lizzie passed, the art went to Halifax but eventually back to Toronto and the AGO where I saw it. 

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. 

PSS: Should you wish to have Creative Scene Investigation applied to one of Thomson's works that I have not yet included in this Blog, please let me know. It may already be completed but not yet posted. In any event, I will move your request to the top of the list. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! 

Science Tuesday with Tom Thomson's The Marsh, Early Spring 1916

Tom Thomson made a stop in Huntsville at the home of Winifred Trainor in mid-March 1916. Tom was on his way to Algonquin Park. He would stay at Canoe Lake until mid-April when he would be visited by Lawren Harris, Lawren's cousin Chester Harris and Dr. MacCallum. Tom probably painted "The Marsh, Early Spring 1916" in late March soon after arriving at Mowat Lodge. Without a hint from Tom, we will never know for certain!

The Marsh, Early Spring 1916
Oil on wood 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (21.2 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size

The location of this marsh was certainly close to the lodge and possibly along the road that led to Canoe Lake Station on the Grand Trunk Railway. The higher hill in the upper right would have been a recognizable landmark in Thomson's day. It would have been nice if he had left us a clue. 

The topographical maps of today show a similar hill east of Joe Lake Dam but that location on Joe Creek is unlikely. Access to the west shore of Joe Creek in the early spring with extensive ice would have been problematic at best. As my Thomson friend notes: "The ice certainly wouldn't have been suitable for walking across (nor the water for paddling). Even if he had walked along the railway tracks, he would have had to do some bushwhacking through the brush and wet snow to get to that spot south of Joe Lake Dam - not easy walking."

Tom Thomson handling the team of horses
while Shannon Fraser in the lower right
looks on. Happy tourists enjoying the 
wagon ride to Canoe Lake Station. 

My Thomson friend shares the opinion that "places Tom somewhere on the road from Mowat Lodge to Canoe Lake station on the west shore of Potter Creek looking north along the swampy area just south of the dogleg after the creek proper enters the calmer water." 

It has been suggested in earlier posts that Tom might occasionally accompany Shannon Fraser to Canoe Lake Station on the wagon - at least part way. Tom could have been dropped off at a suitable location and painted until Shannon was on the return trip to Mowat Lodge. See Early Spring, Canoe Lake Spring 1917 among others. 

The accompanying graphic summarizes the investigation into the possible location of this painting - and also introduces the possibility that Tom might have included the Grand Trunk Railway line in the painting.  

And now for the weather. By comparison with the location, the meteorology is very decisive. 

The shadows on the snow in the foreground indicate that Tom was standing in the shade of a copse of trees. Black spruce would have been likely as the aspen and birch would have still been naked on that spring afternoon. 

The afternoon timing for this sketch is suggested by the well-developed cumulus cloud which takes several hours to develop over a landscape still blanketed by snow and ice. The sun would have an easier time warming the forests to create the warm bubbles of rising air that turn into those low-based cumuli. Tom was not standing among the trees so the long shadows also suggest an afternoon timing for this sketch although even spring shadows at high noon can be lengthy. The cloud shapes along with Tom looking toward the north-northwest indicate that the wind direction was southwesterly. 

Strangely, the location of Tom in the parade of weather systems is more obvious as contrasted with his location while he painted.  The fair weather cumulus shaped by the southwesterly wind is an important clue. As well the air mass was quite moist revealed by the low lifted condensation level of the cumulus clouds - perhaps less than two thousand feet above ground level. Moist air masses are typical of spring as the winter snow and ice melt. 

In 1916, the jet stream was a strong current of air that directed a steady parade of weather systems across the landscape. A student of the skies could fairly easily observe the approach of each low-pressure area followed by a high. It was important knowledge when survival was closely tied to the weather. Tom was painting in the wake of such a low with the high quickly approaching. 

The Strong Zonal Jet Stream (left) has been replaced by a meandering stream (right) in the last century. 

Much has changed in the last century within a climatological blink of an eye. I have written about this many times during my meteorological career. The jet stream has transformed into a meandering stream. High amplitude undulations meandering across the latitudes create blocking patterns where the weather moves very slowly. Atmospheric blocks were rare when I started as a meteorologist in 1976. Today blocking patterns are the meteorological norm.  

I used satellite meteorology and deformation zones to diagnose atmospheric blocks. Some of that research was published at COMET as part of the Satellite Palette (Title page graphic at right).   

Simply, periods of drought persist within the high-pressure cell. Cloudy skies and rain prevail with a low. Topography like the Rockies on the west coast of North America encourages a persistent and strong ridge of high pressure as the jet stream is deflected northward - something I explained in "Revisiting Mountain Ranges and Conserving Spin". Downstream an equally persistent trough of low pressure can be found over eastern North America including Algonquin Park. 

I digress from art but one need not be surprised. Such a dramatic change in weather and climate should be expected when mankind burns carbon that took eons to lock away within the fossils of millions of years of vegetation. The 250 years since the first Industrial Revolution is a geological blink of an eye during which atmospheric carbon has increased beyond any level measured in the last 500 million years! The graph below, published in March 2002 shows the strontium and carbon isotopic signals for the last 500 My. 

The time scale of the Earth can be daunting to comprehend - eyes tend to glaze over. We have entered the Anthropocene (a term coined by Paul Crutzen in 2000), the age of humans and the Sixth Mass Extinction. Scientists are still debating exactly when it started - as we busily rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic .. Oh my!

The graphic to the left of the Empire State Building is a simple way to visualize the scale of geologic time.  One could climb from the ground floor (or take the elevator) through all of the epochs of time (there are 37 of them).  An Epoch is the smallest unit of geologic time lasting several million years each. As one progresses through time, homo sapiens first appeared only 300,000 years ago according to fossil studies. That brief time would be equivalent to the thickness of a dime on the top of the very tip of that 443-metre tall building where we are now. The time since the first Industrial Revolution would be an even thinner smear of grime on top of that dime. Just my two-cents of course.

Here are links to just a few articles concerning carbon and climate change. There are many more.

• The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery - Become Informed and Involved in a Good Way
• The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery 2005 - What has happened in Fifteen Years?
• Carbon 14 at the ROM

Tom was on the northwest side of the high-pressure area
with the next weather system and warm conveyor
belt still some distance to the west. 

This is important science but I digress from art and will now return to our regularly scheduled program. I added the science to explain how we might confidently place Tom within the weather patterns of a century ago. One could forecast the weather and climate more easily than now. The intense, slow-moving and high-impact weather systems of today are the result of a rapidly changing climate. 

Tom carefully signed this plein air work using block letters in the lower right. He must have been very satisfied with his work as he rarely signed anything but his studio canvases. The panel bears the scars of the wet paint smears as he slid the finished work into his paint box for transportation. I devised a system that avoids even touching the panel while painting let alone creating smears. 

Inscription recto: 

l.r., TOM THOMSON 

Inscription verso: 

c., in graphite, HML 17 (circled); 

u.r., label, AGT Dec. 40; 

l.l., label, in ink and graphite, The Marsh-Early Spring / 50. / James MacCallum National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (4680) 

Remarks HML refers to Harold Mortimer-Lamb, an early defender of the Group of Seven, mining engineer and collector. Possibly Dr. MacCallum considered this work as a possible purchase by Mortimer-Lamb or perhaps Mortimer-Lamb purchased it for a period of time before re-selling it to MacCallum; hence the inscription.

Dr. James Metcalfe MacCallum
 (1860–1943)

Provenance:

Dr. J.M. MacCallum, Toronto National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (4680). 

Bequest of Dr. J.M. MacCallum, Toronto, 1944

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. 

PSS: Should you wish to have Creative Scene Investigation applied to one of Thomson's works that I have not yet included in this Blog, please let me know. It may already be completed but not yet posted. In any event, I will move your request to the top of the list. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! 

Tom Thomson's Ice Reflections, Spring 1916

The clues were very subtle indeed! Creative Scene Investigation (CSI) is based on what is apparent in the scene. Sometimes what one can't see, can be turned into a clue. The brush stroke clues can be a challenge to discern without the original in your hand. Two different images (included below) of this original almost look like different paintings. Nothing can replace the original. At best, the camera can highlight and reveal the subtleties. At worst, the camera can distort the truth. We strive for candid honesty with CSI as that is where the message and the inspiration that Tom was feeling might be found. 

Ice Reflections, Spring 1916
Oil on wood 8 7/16 x 10 1/2 in. (21.4 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size

Ice Reflections, Spring 1916
Oil on wood 8 7/16 x 10 1/2 in. (21.4 x 26.7 cm)
Tom's Paint Box Size

Location is always a good place to start. This topography is immediately recognizable to anyone familiar with the 1916 location of  Mowat Lodge and the north basin of Canoe Lake. The ice was still thick so Tom was not paddling anywhere. Tom simply strolled from Mowat Lodge southeastward across the chip yard to the shore of Canoe Lake. 

An examination of the topographical terrain of the area also provides some reference points to confirm our suspicions. 

With the location established, what inspired Tom to paint this panel? The answer can be found in the weather and the distinctive lighting on Hayhurst Point. I suspect the skies had been overcast for most of the day and suddenly, the sun that was lowering on the western horizon broke through and cast brilliant and warm light on Hayhurst Point. The front-lit point was bright and rich in warm shades of orange and even red. The eastern shore of Canoe Lake was still dark even though it too had to be front-lit - perhaps a cloud got in the way. Such lighting was fleeting. I can explain... 

Typical cloud types within the
Conveyor Belt  Conceptual Model

The convective cloud elements were the scale of altocumulus. Holding your thumb up on your outstretched arm would easily obscure any of those convective cloud pieces. An experienced weather observer would estimate those clouds at about 10 thousand feet above ground level. Such overcast altocumulus is typically located with the cyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt conceptual model. Recall that the cyclonic companion is associated with rising moisture in a portion of the circulation that tends to be unstable as well as it curls inward toward the low-pressure area. 

A closer examination of the cloud shield also reveals several lines of slightly darker cloud bases. Tom used a darker shade of green to represent those clouds. The darker bands are very subtle and that is also a clue.

Atmospheric swells result when large amplitude and long wavelength gravity waves propagate long distances from the strong winds that generate them. Swells are readily identifiable within thin layers of moisture as swaths of clouds are separated by ribbons of clear sky. Swells are more difficult to see when they are embedded within a thick layer of moisture - such as one would find in the cyclonic companion of the warm conveyor belt conceptual model. These observations will assist us in locating Tom within the weather pattern of that day. 

What is the low-level wind direction? There was a small patch of open water in front of Tom. The wave action was quite significant given the very limited fetch. Were the low-level winds generating those waves easterly or westerly? 

The cold conveyor belt could have indeed been easterly at that location requiring Tom to be north of the warm front. That fact would also require the low-pressure area to be stronger and slower moving than average. This option is possible but unlikely. The cloud cover is more likely to be extensive ahead of the warm front. There would be a much lower probability of a beam of bright light to illuminate Hayhurst Point. 

The wind could also have been westerly. This would mean that the cold front had just passed Tom's location. Cold descending air behind such a front typically plows downward to the surface creating strong and turbulent winds. That wind gusts would have crossed the barren chip yard and could have easily stirred up waves on that patch of ice-free water. 

The cold frontal passage would also be associated with brief clearing associated with the dry slot of the system. This would allow the sun to reach Hayhurst Point with warm colours - the direct beam having passed through a long atmospheric path and Rayleigh scattering removing the short wavelength blues from the light. 

The cold front is my preferred solution and the one depicted in the following graphic. The cold front would have just passed east of Mowat Lodge and the cloud-free area of the dry slot was allowing light to brighten up the late afternoon. It is also so much more pleasant to be painting with both the sun and the wind on your back. 

In addition, that bay of open water helps place Thomson. The combined flow of Potter and Joe Creeks would be following the western shore of Canoe Lake and making a bit of an eddy into that bay. Recall that moving currents are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere by the Coriolis Force. 

Let me refresh your memory. Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis of Paris (1792-1843) was an engineer and mathematician who first described motions on a rotating body deflected by an apparent force that now bears his name. If you place your Coriolis hand palm down and point your thumb in the direction of the motion, the moving substance will be deflected in the direction of your fingers. Your right hand is your Coriolis Hand in the Northern Hemisphere while south of the equator, it is your left hand. 

The south-facing shoreline would also warm under the spring sun and melt the adjacent ice. Elsewhere the lake ice was still fast and solid.

Tom was located just west of the surface cold front
looking east across the north basin of Canoe Lake.

The inscription on the back suggests that his painting was completed "ca. end of 1915". This timing is in conflict with the name applied to the painting. Tom arrived at Mowat Lodge after the middle of March in 1916. The bold and blocky brush-work of "Ice Reflections" (upper left in the following graphic) does match other works completed in 1915 and 1916 including Wild Cherries, Spring, Spring 1915; Moonlight and Birches, Spring 1915; Sunset Sky, Spring 1915; Opulent October, Winter 1915–16 (1915-1916.01); In the Northland, Winter 1915–16 (1915-1916.05); Autumn's Garland, Winter 1915–16 (1915-1916.06); and The Pool, Winter 1915–16 (1915-1916.25) among others. 

My Thomson friend also took a close look at Tom's portfolio from 1915 and 1916. 

"He seemed to be trying out different approaches to things over time but hadn't really settled into one approach for everything - just responding to what was in front of him.  In addition to the 'splotches', he often seemed to use wide stripes, almost slabs, in many cases (e.g. Jack Pine studio painting - horizontal slabs).  Another interesting work is Frost Laden Cedars, Big Cauchon Lake - very vertically slabby background, and exuberant free brushwork for the frosty foliage in the foreground (I love that one).  Woodland Waterfall has slabs in both directions.  Many, many more examples ... "

As mentioned at the very start "Nothing can replace the original." One needs to visit the
museum with these originals to adequately appreciate the brushwork of Tom Thomson.

Tom was apparently still experimenting and forging his distinctive artistic path. Perhaps he was getting ready for the creative explosion in that final spring of 1917. An artist's style must be the property of the person and something I never touched when I taught. It is another reason why these posts stick to the science except in cases like this one when the style might be useful to establish when a painting was completed. There is no clear consensus on exactly when "Ice Reflections" was created. The timing of the early spring of 1916 as suggested by the title is certainly plausible. Let's go with it!

                                            Ice Reflections, Spring 1916                                        
       as it would have appeared in  
      Tom Thomson's Paint Box. 

Inscription verso:

• l.c., in graphite, ca. end of 1915;
•  l.l., label, Ice reflections-Spring / James MacCallum National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (4709)

 Provenance:

• Estate of the artist 
• Dr. J.M. MacCallum, Toronto 
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (4709). Bequest of Dr. J.M. MacCallum, Toronto, 1944

Tom was painting on the west shore of Canoe Lake a short distance from Mowat Lodge after a day of cloudy skies and perhaps even some precipitation. The cold front swept through and shafts of light from the setting sun burst through the dry slot setting Hayhurst Point on fire. Tom just had to record that moment in oils. The west wind might have felt chilly on his back but the clouds and the light inspired this vision of the weather. If only Tom had left some clues about when he painted this...

Somehow the simple name "Ice Reflections, Spring 1916" does not do justice to the remarkable story behind this plein air observation of wind and weather. Tom's patron Dr. James Metcalfe MacCallum (1860–1943) saw the genius in this weather observation and included it in his own collection. Dr. MacCallum had a fine eye for art and knew what he liked. He also enjoyed the first pick of Tom's plein air observations to select his very favourites. The doctor would pay with a few bills to make sure that Tom had enough to get by - Tom was chronically short of cash. The good doctor gave his unique art collection to the National Gallery and the people of Canada after his death. Thank you James!

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. 

PSS: Should you wish to have Creative Scene Investigation applied to one of Thomson's works that I have not yet included in this Blog, please let me know. It may already be completed but not yet posted. In any event, I will move your request to the top of the list. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!