We recently took a family trip by car from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to our home in Ottawa. At first, I was nervous that the trip would be punctuated by continuous demands of “Are we there yet?” and hour after hour of uninspiring scenery.
By Sault Tourism
The Art Gallery of Algoma is a public gallery dedicated to cultivating and advancing the awareness of visual arts in Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma. Approximately 24 exhibitions are mounted each year featuring local, national and international artists. The art gallery also boasts an ever-growing permanent collection of 5,000 works of art and an arts-related resource centre.
In the summer and fall of 2024, the Art Gallery of Algoma hosts a special exhibit by Group of Seven painter Franklin Carmichael, a gallery on the Canadian Wilderness, also featuring works from Group of Seven artists, a beautiful photography display, and pieces of renowned Indigenous art. Keep reading to learn more, or click on this link to go to the Art Gallery website.
The town of Cobalt, Ontario—some 500 kilometres north of Toronto—was established in 1904 following the discovery of rich silver, cobalt, ore, and nickel deposits. At peak production in 1911, Cobalt provided approximately one eighth of the world’s silver. In its heyday, the story of Cobalt was known around the world, and the town attracted miners, scientists, scholars, and of course, artists.
This exhibition, which run to October 12, showcases the work of the artists who visited and documented Cobalt and its silver mines between the First and Second World Wars, after much of the natural resource deposits were depleted. Among them was a rising generation of Canadian modern painters which included Yvonne McKague Housser, Bess Larkin Housser Harris, Isabel McLaughlin, Frederick Banting, A.Y. Jackson, and Franklin Carmichael. These artists created works that depicted Canada as a new, modern industrial nation in step with the future — a contrast to the better-known works from this period that picture Canada as untouched wilderness. While some artists conjured Cobalt as a heroic bastion of industry and enterprise, others focused on the town’s grit and dishevelment. This exhibition and its accompanying publication will explore both sides of this dynamic relationship and shine new light on the settler relationship with the natural landscape.
Organized and circulated by McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Curated by Dr. Catharine Mastin Ph.D.
Love of Canadian Wilderness features artwork by the Group of Seven from the Art Gallery of Algoma’s permanent collection.
The Group of Seven in Canadian art history remains the most recognizable art group for over a century. One of their favourite places to paint and visit was Algoma and the shores of Lake Superior. This rugged landscape, mostly wild and untouched, remains to this day an inspiration to many contemporary artists.
The way in which the Group of Seven artists depicted the Canadian landscape is still the image instilled in people’s minds when they think about Canada. It is a perception of stunning natural beauty, adventure in the wilderness, solitude, and admiration of nature. Algoma is a huge part of it.
Fifteen Minutes of Fame? presents photographs from the Art Gallery of Algoma’s permanent collection. While technology can facilitate Internet stardom today, these glossy black-and-white photographs by acclaimed American photographers Edward Steichen (1879-1973) and Larry Fink (1941-2023) present fame through the glamorous world of actors, writers, and visual artists from the 1920s to the early 2000s, as well as gritty scenes of boxing matches in the 1990s.
Gallery 3 presents a rotating selection of paintings from the permanent collection and on the lobby of the Art Gallery is where you’ll find work from Norval Morrisseau
Norval Morrisseau (1931-2007) is the most known and recognized Indigenous artist in Canada. He is considered the founder of the Woodland School of art, which is the art style based on the traditional Indigenous legends. It is unmistakably recognizable through the use of bright colours, bold lines, heavy black outlines of forms and X-ray views of people, animals and spirits. He was the first to break traditional rules by depicting spiritual knowledge in his paintings. Morrisseau’s images carry powerful messages, they are full of symbolism and spirituality translating oral into visual stories. This exhibition features a selection of his works from the Art Gallery of Algoma’s permanent collection.
The Art Gallery of Algoma offers a number of tours that are designed to engage out of town visitors and local community members alike. Please contact us about any of the tours listed below. Custom tours are available upon request with 48 hours prior notice. Occasionally, group tours can be booked outside of regular hours of operation dependent on staff availability.
Tours include a Group of Seven Painting Tours, Art & Architecture Tour, Tour and Lunch, Guided Tour and Art Activity or a Wine and Cheese Reception. Get all the details by clicking here.
Book your seat on the narrated, one-day, round trip Agawa Canyon Tour Train and you’ll pass several sites captured by the Group of Seven while marvelling at the rugged beauty of the Canadian landscape.
View scenes that inspired some of the most famous works of art from the Group of Seven including The Solemn Land (based on Montreal River Harbour) and Algoma Waterfall (based on Bridal Veil Falls), by J.E.H MacDonald. The original sketch of The Solemn Land, painted after MacDonald first visited the area in 1918, is part of the permanent collection at the Art Gallery of Algoma.
When the train stops within the Agawa Canyon, hike towards Bridal Veil Falls where you’ll see the cascading tiers of water which inspired multiple sketches and paintings by members of the Group of Seven including Lawren Harris and the aforementioned J.E.H. MacDonald.
The” Soo”, as it’s known to locals, has embraced the regions “colourful” Group of Seven history, not only through the art in the gallery, but also embracing their rail history as well. For the artists and for you, Sault Ste. Marie will be the send off into the region. One hundred and one years ago, with no highways going north, the group utilized the railway, catching the train in Sault Ste. Marie. Along this rail line they camped and paddled through the remote areas allowing them a feeling of peace and tranquility they could not find in the larger cities in southern Ontario. They came here to heal from the war and to try to make sense of the untimely death of their friend Tom Thomson. But they did much more than heal, they found themselves, and their inspiration through the landscapes of this beautiful region. Much like the tourists of today, once the Group of Seven visited the first time, they came again and again.
If you are riding the rails into Algoma on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, your departure will be the beautiful new train station. But whether you are riding the train or not, the brand-new train station, as well as the rail car #10557, are a must do stop! The bright red boxcar was recreated for the documentary, A Painted Land, In Search of the Group of Seven, and remains on display outside the train station. It is a perfect replica of the rail car that the Group called home many times through their travels in Algoma. It’s a perfect photo op for the true Group of Seven fan.
As you travel through Algoma Country, in search of the Group of Seven’s inspirations, you would be remiss if you did not start your trip by visiting the Art Gallery of Algoma. Located on the St. Marys River, the Art Gallery of Algoma is home to a diverse permanent collection of artwork – including original pieces by members of the Group of Seven. Find an interpretive panel in the Elsie Savoie Sculpture Park near the boardwalk.
The Art Gallery of Algoma’s permanent collection includes numerous Group of Seven site specific sketches and studies. Shop for Group of Seven related books, gifts, calendars and memorabilia in the gift shop. Be sure to visit the Gallery’s website for ongoing and rotating Group of Seven exhibits
You can experience their travels on the rail, and travel along the coastline of Lake Superior by vehicle on Highway 17 North. Starting just outside of Sault Ste. Marie at Chippewa Falls, and continuing along Ontario’s most beautiful coast to Nipigon/Red Rock you will find many sites and interpretive panels that will tell more of the story of the Group of Seven in this region. Don’t travel fast but rather enjoy, explore, and pause. You will gain a better understanding of why this area was a favourite of the Group of Seven.
You will discover that today, this region remains rich in beautiful forests, crystal clear lakes, and rivers still filled with plentiful fish and game. This area is so lucky that so many vistas painted by the Group remain untouched today. There is a sense of beauty and serenity here that one must truly experience, much like the Group of Seven did just over a hundred years ago.
Remember, memories are made through a gathering of great moments, seven men captured their moments in Algoma, it is time to capture yours. Learn more about the discovery route here.
Drive north of the city along highway 17 and you’ll reach Chippewa Falls, the halfway point of Trans Canada Hwy 17. Visit this waterfall along the Lake Superior Circle Tour where painter A.Y. Jackson sketched the rapids which became “Streambed, Lake Superior Country”. Chippewa Falls also inspired J.E.H. MacDonald to paint ‘Batchewana Rapid‘.
The falls can be seen from the viewing bridge near the parking lot. To hike alongside the waterfall, please proceed with caution as trails can be challenging beside this fast moving water.
By Stephen Johnson
Trains, Trails, and Ancient Art
Driving cross-country and thinking of skipping Ontario? Here’s why you shouldn’t. This family found some fascinating roads into Canada’s past, and its rich natural beauty.
We recently took a family trip by car from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to our home in Ottawa. At first, I was nervous that the trip would be punctuated by continuous demands of “Are we there yet?” and hour after hour of uninspiring scenery.
I could not have been more wrong. The scenery all along the route was quite beautiful. Things got jaw-droppingly gorgeous once we hit Rossport, Ontario. We were treated to kilometre after kilometre of landscapes that were straight out of a Group of Seven painting. Still more beauty awaited us in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
