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. "Morning, Algonquin Park, Spring 1915" was another of those panels and displays the distinctive "TT Estate Stamp". I hope they got the timing of "morning correct - I suspect they were right. The only image I have available in order to study this weatherscape is dark with flash glare but the science was still discernible. 'I did not wish any of Tom's weatherscapes to be left
behind or unapreciated ...
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Morning, Algonquin Park Alternate title: Spring, Algonquin Park Spring 1915 Oil on composite wood-pulp board 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (21.6 x 26.7 cm) Tom's Paint Box Size |
Finding the location of this painting benefited from Tom not travelling far from Mowat Lodge in the spring of 1915. Tom was quite faithful to the cloud structure and the terrain he saw. The following graphic will explain that Tom was looking southwesterly from his favourite campsite or possibly Little Wapoemo Island. 
Comparing the terrain of ”Morning, Algonquin Park, Spring 1915” with another painting of a similar vista also from 1915 yields some promising comparisons. The goal was to confirm the direction of view from which the illumination of the scene determines the time of day.
Placing Thomson within the weatherscape was easier than doing so within the terrain despite the poor image. The following graphic details what Thomson's brush strokes were saying.
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| See Tom Thomson's “A Northern Lake" for an example of the Belt of Venus. |
The characteristic gravity wave bands of altostratus clouds offer some more evidence. The descending dry conveyor belt (DCB) actually "pushes" the cold front along. As with all circulations within the Conveyor Belt Conceptual Model, the DCB is comprised of both a cyclonic and an anticyclonic companion as labelled in the following graphic. The cold front is actually the deformation zone associated with the dry conveyor belt! The following graphic comes from my years at COMET in Boulder, Colorado.
The cyclonic companion actually curls northward and as a result, rises along the isentropic (constant energy) surfaces. Rising air must cool and the gravity waves that are found in almost every flow suddenly become visible as regular bands of cloud. In this case, the wind gravity waves were the bands of altostratus that Tom brushed onto the panel hiding behind the cold frontal, convective cumulus. The black oval on the above graphic locates the cloud that Tom observed. Tom's location is the viewing direction symbol just ahead of the surface cold front.
The following satellite view of an actual cold front was taken from the days when I was attempting to teach the wonders of the actual atmosphere. I have superimposed Tom's probable location within this satellite view (yellow star) and highlighted some features also included in the above graphics. These art history posts allow me to continue to quietly teach about atmospheric processes.
I closely examined satellite (and radar) images every day of my 35 years with the Atmospheric Environment Service (and Environment Canada). The goal was to identify the weather concern of the day from within the real-time imagery. The atmosphere taught essential lessons of reality every day in the burgeoning science of remote sensing. Every day at the weather centre was exciting and full of wonder. I frequently used the phrase "Everyone wants to see a tornado before they die - but not just before they die". Remote sensing allows the study of all atmospheric scales without placing yourself in harm's way.
In the late 1970s, the data was low-resolution and restricted to grainy still images of only a small number of selected sensing wavelengths. Multiple hard-copy images were "cartoon flipped" to approximate animation. When VHS cameras came along in the mid-1980s, we started to create videotapes of satellite loops to watch clouds in motion. The tedious process was soon followed by the 286 processor computer chip and animation on the newly arrived computer systems. I may have started with stills but animation was essential to really comprehend the dynamics of the atmospheric processes. The data is of the highest quality in the 2020s and people can see colourful and meaningful remote sensing of the atmosphere up to the minute on their phones. Oh my! (I do not have a phone... still old-school I guess.)
The conclusion is simply that Tom painted the weather and the terrain that he actually witnessed. It must follow that the science shaping those cloud patterns had to be correct as well. It is simply my passion to explain those patterns and the science as best that I can.
- c., estate stamp;
- u.l., in graphite, Spring, Algonquin Park;
- l.c., in black crayon, Sketch #11;
- l.r., in graphite, No. 44 Mrs. H...;
- l.l., c., in pen, T-T-17
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Elizabeth Thomson Harkness, Annan and Owen Sound
- Mellors-Laing Gallery, Toronto
- Private collector, Toronto
- Private collection, Toronto, by descent
- Private Collection, Toronto
Remarks: The work shows the burned land with wild cherry bushes blooming.
Each of Tom's siblings received ten works. This one went to Tom's older sister Elizabeth who married Tom Harkness. Mr. Harkness would become the executor of Tom Thomson's estate.
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| The nine Thomson children |
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!
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