About the Artists, Our History, & Our Heritage

• Around the year 1600, hats made from beaver pelts became very fashionable in Europe, yet at the same time beavers in Europe were becoming extinct from over-hunting. The discovery of the North American beaver was a miracle to hat-makers in Europe. The fur trade in Canada led to the exploration of the country and the formation of the oldest and largest company in Canadian history: the “Hudson’s Bay Company”.
  
  The King of England gave his cousin Prince Rupert and his partners all the land whose rivers drained into Hudson Bay for fur trading which became known as Rupert’s land. In 1670 the Hudson’s Bay Company was formed. They had no competition at the time, however in 1783 a number of merchants from Quebec formed The North West Company and competition between the two companies was fierce. Both companies started to explore west to find new sources of fur. In 1821, the Northwest Company joined with Hudson’s Bay Company to form the most powerful organization in North America.
  
  Frances Anne (Beechey) Hopkins (visit our Gallery by Artist to view her images) was married to Edward Martin Hopkins, Secretary to Sir George Simpson, Governor in Chief of all Supervisors of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Hopkins traveled the canoe routes of Canada accompanying her husband and the Governor on their inspection tours of the Company’s outposts. These travels gave her the authoritative, firsthand knowledge of the subjects she painted. She brought the authenticity of experience to her paintings of the canoes, the North American waters and forests, and the voyageurs who traversed them.

• The Algonquin Indians began using birch bark canoes patterned after those designed by the Ojibwe around the time the fur trade began. As the fur trade expanded, so did the use of the birch bark canoe. Construction of canoes became a significant industry all along the fur trade routes.
  
  The two most common types of birch bark canoes used for the fur trade were the Montreal Canoe and the North Canoe. On trips from Montreal to Grand Portage or Fort William, a large canoe (The Montreal Canoe) was needed to handle the dangerous waters of the Great Lakes and also to transport the large cargo of trade goods and provisions going out and the fur pelts coming back. This canoe was approximately 30-40 feet long and was manned by 8-16 voyageurs. Empty, it could weigh more than 200 lbs., but could still be carried by a group over the portages if necessary.
  
  The North Canoe was most often used between the remote outposts. They were approximately 18-25 feet in length and were usually manned by 2-6 voyageurs. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist under Frances Anne Hopkins to view images of these types of canoes and the voyageurs who manned them).

• Many of Canada’s cities, such as Edmonton and Thunder Bay, had their beginnings as a fur-trade post.

• Cumberland House, Saskatchewan was the first inland post of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

• In 1954, Arthur Lismer of the Group of Seven wrote about Krieghoff: “Through Cornelius Krieghoff, the habitant comes to life, the landscape takes on colour, the winter is a form of national expression freed of its terrors, and painting becomes one of the cultural aspirations of the whole world. Krieghoff was a pioneer in all this.” (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view our Krieghoff collection).

• A.J. Casson’s “White Pine” was painted in the La Cloche region. An article in the Elliot Lake Standard in 1985 quoted Casson as saying “I don’t think I ever got, anywhere, as much material as I did around La Cloche. You don’t have to hunt, you could get into one spot and work.” Casson also said in the article, “Looking back, the best things I’ve done were around the Madawaska Valley, Combermere, Bancroft and La Cloche”. A.Y. Jackson, Franklin Carmichael and Arthur Lismer also painted in the La Cloche area, and since then, many artists have come to paint the quartzite hills and windswept pines. The government honoured Casson, Jackson and Carmichael by naming lakes after them. Casson Lake is just north of the northwest tip of Kilarney Park, while the other two are within the park boundaries. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view “White Pine” and “Casson Lake”).

• The farmhouse in A.J. Casson’s painting “Farm House Near Wingle” was built in 1863 and is located in the beautiful Madawaska Valley. Today, it is operated as a Bed & Breakfast Inn.

• Maurice Cullen’s influence on later Canadian landscape art was profound. Cullen’s significance to his peers was expressed by such important artists as A.Y. Jackson, who said “He influenced us (the Group of Seven) more than Morrice did” and Clarence Gagnon stated that Cullen was “far ahead of his time in our country”. Cullen was one of the earliest artists to bring an impressionist palette and technique to the Canadian landscape. He worked in pastel throughout his life and was known for his mastery of this medium.

• Many of Lawren Harris’s earliest paintings were of Toronto street scenes and houses in the Ward (an inner-city immigrant neighbourhood located southeast of the University of Toronto). In the 1930s, Harris’s work was influenced by his embrace of theosophy (a spiritual philosophy of personal awareness and the unity of everything). His paintings became abstract using geometrical shapes and focusing on line and colour. It was his search for a deeper spiritual meaning that led him to the stark landscapes of the far north. During this period, his paintings strove to capture the spiritual essence of the bold landforms of the Rockies and the Arctic.
  
  Harris believed that colours carried meaning. Blue meant faith, white meant truth, and yellow stood for knowledge. In his painting “Mount Lefroy", clouds form a halo around the mountains to emphasize the peace surrounding the place. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view the image of “Mount Lefroy”).

• In 1930, Lawren Harris joined A.Y. Jackson and his friend, Dr. Frederick Banting, on their annual sketching trip to the Arctic. It was then that Harris did the sketches for Baffin Island, a canvas that in 2001 would sell at auction for $2.2 million, the highest price ever paid for a Group of Seven painting.

• A.Y. Jackson’s landscape painting “The Red Maple” which was painted in his Toronto studio in 1914 was based on a sketch he did along the Oxtongue River in Algonquin Park.

• Several members of The Group of Seven painted in the Algoma region between 1918 and 1923, including J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frank H. Johnston, A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris. To gain access to this remote region they rented a boxcar from the Railway. The car was outfitted like a cabin and was shunted to sidings near choice painting locations. From there the artists would set out on foot or canoe to capture this untamed area on canvas. Their paintings brought this beautiful, vast, and rugged part of our country to fellow Canadians and the world. “Montreal River” by J.E.H. MacDonald was painted from the railway track. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view this image).

• Beginning in 1954, Mount Burgess became known as “Ten Dollar Mountain” because it was featured on the back of our ten-dollar bill. The mountain lies between Emerald Lake and the Kicking Horse Valley. It was first ascended by James J. McArthur in 1892 during his survey of the lands adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist under Byron Harmon to view this image)

• Mt. Assiniboine is one of the highest peaks in the Rockies, located in Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park, adjoining Banff National Park. The valley around Mt. Assiniboine is one of the most popular hiking areas in the Rockies. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist under Byron Harmon to view this image)

• The new Para Paint collection of 30 colours was inspired by 10 select works from Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven including Lawren Harris’s Mt. Lefroy, Franklin Carmichael’s Bay of Islands and A.J. Casson’s White Pine. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view the above prints)

• The St. Lawrence Hall, located at King and Jarvis Streets, was built in 1849-50. The structure originally contained a hall for public gatherings at the King street end, and a covered market extending back to Front Street in the rear. In its heyday it was the venue for many important social and cultural events and lectures. Towards the end of the 19th century it fell into a sad state of disrepair, and remained that way until 1967 when it was restored. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view Al Darling’s Limited Edition print of St. Lawrence Hall).

• Gooderham and Worts Distillery, located on Mill Street east of Parliament, was built in 1859. After a fire in 1869 it was rebuilt. James Worts and his brother-in-law William Gooderham first set up a wind-driven flour mill in 1831-32 near the mouth of the Don River, The milling operation expanded to distilling and then to a number of manufacturing and financial interests carried on by successive generations of the family. Today Gooderham and Worts is a subsidiary of Hiram Walker Co. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view Al Darling’s Limited Edition print of this building)

• The Rideau Canal in Ottawa is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s longest skating rink. (Visit our web site to view Al Darling’s limited edition print of Skaters on the Rideau).

• Internationally known restaurant Anciens Canadiens (Aux) is located in the historic Maison Jacquet, the oldest house in Quebec, built in 1675-76. The nuns of the neighboring Ursuline Convent granted the site to Francois Jacquet in 1674. Several prominent figures have resided in Maison Jacquet, including the author of the novel “Les Anciens Canadiens”, Philippe-Aubert de Gaspé, who lived there from 1815 to 1824, and though contradicted by history, the myth persists that General Montcalm also lived and died in this famous house. Since 1966, the Maison Jacquet has housed the restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view Al Darling’s limited edition print of this famous Quebec landmark).

• Auberge du Tresor claims to be North America’s oldest inn with the building dating back to 1679. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view Al Darling’s limited edition print of this famous Quebec Inn).

• Kensington Market began early in the 20th century when Jewish immigrants created an almost self-sufficient village by adding stores to the residential area. Kensington Market remains as one of the few open-air markets in North America. Former Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman was born and raised in Kensington Market. The Market was also the setting for the television series “King of Kensington” starring Al Waxman. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view Al Darling’s limited edition print of this Toronto landmark).

• Maurice Cullen, A.Y. Jackson, Frederick H. Varley & Arthur Lismer were four of our six Canadian Official War Artists of the First World War.

• Lawren Harris was one of seventeen Canadian Official War Artists of the Second World War.

• In 1964, with the help of The Group of Seven, 4,000 square miles along the shoreline of Georgian Bay were preserved as a wilderness reserve, Killarney Provincial Park.

• Killarney Park and the north shore of Georgian Bay boast one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. Commonly known as the La Cloche Mountains, the ridges are composed of ancient white quartzite and date back three and a half billion years. The La Cloche hills were originally taller than the Rocky Mountains and now form some of Ontario’s tallest peaks. The Group of Seven member who frequented this area the most was Franklin Carmichael. In 1935 he built a log cottage on Frood Lake’s Cranberry Bay, located between the village of Willisville and the portage leading to Grace Lake. Many of Carmichael’s paintings were done at Grace Lake. Mr. Carmichael’s cottage still exists and is now used by his daughter and grandchildren.

• During the years 1917 and 1918, two events combined to cause Lawren Harris to suffer a nervous breakdown; on July 8, 1917, Tom Thomson died in Algonquin Park and in February 1918, Harris’s brother was killed in the war. It was during the spring of 1918, during his period of recovery, that he first traveled to Algoma.

• In 1922 Lawren Harris discovered Coldwell and nearby Pic Island, about half the journey west along the north shore from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay, which became a favourite painting place.

• Helen McNicoll became deaf at two years of age due to scarlet fever and died at the early age of thirty-six due to complications from diabetics. Many critics consider her to be one of Canada’s foremost impressionist painters.

• The 54 paintings that illustrate Louis Hemon’s 1933 novel Maria Chapdelaine are those of Clarence Gagnon.

• Arthur Heming did not start painting in colour until the age of 60. He had been told years earlier that he was partially colour blind. Fearing to make an improper or incorrect colour choice, he worked only in black and white. At the age of 60 it was determined that he was not colour blind.

• Mary Cassatt was the only American artist (and one of only three women) to exhibit with the Impressionists in Paris.

• Michael Kahn’s prints are seen in set designs for films by MGM. His still shots appear in the Warner Brothers film, “Message in a Bottle” and in the James Bond film, “Die another Day”. He has been profiled and his images showcased in prominent magazines and newspapers including National Geographic, Coastal Living, Architectural Digest, Classic Boat, Sailing World, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

• Frances Anne (Beechey) Hopkins was a British artist who married Edward Martin Hopkins, Secretary to Sir George Simpson, Superintendent General of the Hudson’s Bay Company. On several occasions, she accompanied her husband and the Superintendent on their inspection tours of the Company’s outposts. She was one of the few women to experience these journeys and was admired for her paintings of voyageur life.

• Ducks Unlimited awarded Canadian Artist Jake Vandenbrink the honour of being their “National Artist” in 1993 & 1995. An avid supporter of many conservation groups, Jake’s art has raised thousands of dollars over the years toward the preservation of our wildlife and environment.

• Tom Thomson’s grandparents were Scottish and immigrated to Canada in the 1830s. His Father, John Thomson (1840-1930) was born in Whitby, Ontario and attended the Whitby Grammar School. Tom was born in 1877 on a farm near Claremont, west of Whitby in Pickering Township.

• Tom Thomson’s “The Jack Pine” is one of the last major canvases that he completed before his death. It is thought that it was probably sketched at Grand Lake in Algonquin Park in 1916. The original hangs in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view this image).

• Thomson’s first exhibition of his sketches was held at the Arts and Letters Club in 1911, when he was 34. A year later, his first major canvas, A Northern Lake, painted in the winter of 1912-13 after his first visit to Algonquin Park, was purchased by the Government of Ontario from the Ontario Society of Artists show for $250.00.

• Tom Thomson’s painting “In the Northland” was developed from a sketch made during the trip to Algonquin Park in the fall of 1914. In a letter he wrote to Dr. James MacCallum, Thomson modestly reported: “The maples are about all stripped of leaves now, but the birches are very rich in colour…the best I can do does not do the place much justice in the way of beauty.” (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view this image).

• In 1915, the National Gallery of Canada purchased Tom Thomson’s “Northern River” for $500.00. (Visit our Catalogue by Artist to view this image).

• In 1998 Tom McNeely was commissioned to paint 38 paintings for the 4-hour television documentary “Empire of the Bay” a documentary which recounts the story of the Hudson Bay Company, for the History Channel and PBS. He painted 12 images for the book “Despite All Obstacles, LaSalle and the Conquest of the Mississippi”, one of several historical books for Mikaya Press, New York, N.Y., published in 2001. Tom has illustrated a “Peoples of the Arctic Circle” map for the National Geographic Society, Washington D.C. He has also produced endpapers for most of Pierre Berton’s books as well as painting Canadian historical subjects for Rolph Clark Stone calendars.

• The Canada Council for the Arts nominated Rajka Kupesic for the Governor General’s 2005 Literary Award (Children’s Literature - Illustration) for her paintings in Louis Hemon’s famous novel “Maria Chapdelaine”.  This enchanting depiction of a classic tale is paired with 26 exquisite, naïve paintings that capture the reverie and austerity of our Canadian heritage.  “Claire’s Gift”, another book that Kupesic did the paintings for, was awarded the Mr. Christie’s Book Award for Best Children’s Book in 2000.

• The historic steam locomotive #136 in Al Darling’s “Steams Up” was built in 1883.  On November 7th, 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway’s transcontinental line (four thousand miles if iron road from the Atlantic to the Pacific) was completed, formally linking Canada together as a nation.  South Simcoe Railway’s #136 was one of the steam locomotives used to build that line.  (Visit our web site and Search our Catalogue by Artist to view this image)

• “Little Island” by A.J. Casson was painted in Combermere (near Barry’s Bay) on the Madawaska River where the river widens.  “I got that one evening when we had a clinker of a thunderstorm, then the sun came out and I got the sketch.  I never liked the business of just going out and painting a summer landscape – I liked something going on – like a storm or fog.”  Source:  ‘Sunday Morning with Cass’ – Conversations with A. J. Casson, Author:  Ted Herriott.  Visit “News” on our web site to read about other paintings by A.J. Casson…In His Own Words.

• Casson’s Cassons  - Limited Edition Collection:  For more than sixty years, Mr. & Mrs. Casson selected a favourite sketch or two from each year of painting, to form a kind of visual diary of their lives.  This volume represents many periods of the artist’s development and is the first appearance of these images outside of the Casson home.  The variety and number of oil sketches and watercolours in Casson’s Cassons underline the plenitude of Casson’s lifetime production.  To view this collection, visit our Catalogue page and click on the link for A.J. Casson Limited Editions – Approved & Hand-Initialed by Mr. Casson, or visit www.bremnerfineart.com.

• “The Quilters” by Rajka Kupesic is a tribute by Rajka to another art form – the art of quilting.  Did you know…quilting started centuries ago and there are literally thousands of women still quilting today.  Quilting has become over a $2 billion dollar industry in North America.  The internet is full of quilt shops, quilting associations, quilt shows, quilt guilds, and even quilting retreats.  “The Quilters” is featured on the November issue of Curious – The Tourist Guide.  “Our front cover this issue features “The Quilters” by Rajka Kupesic.  Our grandmothers would remember the days spent sharing tea, story telling, advice…and perhaps a little gossip while they quilted the hours away.  If only we could slow down our world a little bit so that it could include some quality time with our friends and family.  As the holiday season approaches, be sure to set aside some enjoyable activities (old fashion or not) to be shared with the special people in your life.”   Excerpt from Publisher’s Letter –Curious – The Tourist Guide, November 2006.  (Visit our web site to view Kupesic’s images published by Northland Art Company & Bremner Fine Art)

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history, heritage, and artists.