Tom Thomson Often Gave His Rough Sketches On Board To Those Who Showed Appreciation

THE GENEROSITY OF THE ARTIST HAS OFTEN BEEN FORGOTTEN, AS THE THOMSON MYSTERY SHADOWS OVER THE ARTIST

SIMPLE ACTS OF KINDNESS WERE NOTED BY HIS FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES

      There was an occasion, when an Algonquin Park Ranger, while patrolling Smoke Lake, noticed a wisp of woodsmoke rising over the evergreens, from an incline looking out over the lakeland. He brought his canoe up onto shore, and hiked quickly up a visible path, to find the source of the smoke. When he came to the crest of the hill, the Park Ranger noticed a man sitting with a paint box and board, presumably sketching the panorama of the lakeshore, as it appeared to him, looking down on the opposite side of this particular peak.
     The Ranger could see the artist was also baking something on top of a small campfire, which had, of course, been the source of the smoke. He walked up slowly, to where the artist had stationed himself, trying not to disturb the work in progress. Tom Thomson had heard his footfall, and without needing to turn away from his work, welcomed his guest to the hillside. They exchanged greetings, and the Ranger explained that he was just checking out the wisps of smoke over the treeline, in case it had been the start of a brush fire. The Ranger, looking at the sketch Thomson had been working on, remarked that his depiction of the scene was exactly what was visible, and the colors used were a perfect match, to what was visible and vibrant at that time of day. Thomson was always pleased to have his work critiqued, as being accurate to the colors nature was prevailing upon the specific scene.
     Thomson, pleased with the compliment, invited the Ranger to find a place to sit, as his blueberry pie, in his specially made convection oven, was in its last few minutes of baking; and he invited his guest to join him for a slice or two. Thomson was also known as being generous with his provisions, and would usually make more than he needed, expecting someone would arrive at his encampment, wherever that happened to be, in need of sustenance. It was also known, that if you admired a piece of his art, where it had been left to dry, he frequently awarded the kind comments with a gift of the subject wood panel (being one of his original sketches). There was one case, when a mother and her child, were standing at the dock, in Mowat, when Thomson paddled his canoe alongside. While he was pulling his supplies and finished birch panels from the canoe, both mother and child were fascinated by his art work. When he was finished unloading, he turned to the woman, and handed her one, but possibly several of the art pieces, and suggested, that one day, they might be worth a few dollars, and that she should sell them, and buy something nice for her child. Even a new pair of shoes. At this time Thomson had no idea what his art-work would be selling for, even later in his lifetime. The woman could have bought a house for her child, if she had been able to wait a few years before selling.
     Thomson was quite willing to help out any friend, neighbor, or associate artist requiring assistance, at some point, with a building or moving enterprise, and wasn't adverse to helping strangers down on their luck, or lost on the trails or waterways of Algonquin Park. If he caught more fish than her required for himself, he was known to give them away with his kind regards. He had known modest proportion, from his own poorer days, so he was generous with those he knew need assistance most. It would be hard to know the exact number of sketches Thomson had given away in his life, but it was what he enjoyed doing; he was his own harshest critic, and it was known of him, having arrived back at Mowat after a sketching trip, to toss the art panels he didn't approve, like skipping stones, across the shimmering surface of Canoe Lake.
     One story that has been told, about Thomson's demise, was that he had to confront Mowat Hotelier, Shannon Fraser, about money he had loaned him, and the fact his friend and landlord, was refusing to pay it back. A scuffle is said to have occurred, possibly causing serious injury to the artist, when knocked to the ground, allegedly banging his head on a fire grate at Mowat Lodge. The reason, said for Thomson's desire to reclaim the money, from the Lodge proprietor, was that his girlfriend, Winnie Trainor, was pregnant, and he going to have to get married; thus needing the money to support his new family. Of course, it is also alleged, that Thomson owed Fraser money, and when he asked for its return, a fight ensued, and Thomson, as a direct result, succumbed.
     Thomson was said to have had a bad temper, and could become violent quickly when antagonized. There is evidence, to a degree, of this being true. Yet it can also be said with considerable accuracy, that Tom Thomson was a kindly chap, who was well mannered, and considerate of those around him. He was willing to share his food provisions, and his art work, with those who he felt, had made positive comments, and insightful observations about his finished work. There was a case where a child of a park official, when seeing one of his art panels drying in the open area of Mowat Lodge, remarked that she knew exactly where the artist had been positioned, in the forest, to paint the vibrantly colored berries on the unnamed plant. She noted how perfect the colors were, to the plant she had also seen on her hikes through the forest.
     Here now are a few more stories from my personal archives, dating back more than twenty years of research, regarding the biography of Tom Thomson. By the way, there are many dozens of high quality books, written by some of the best known art experts, and Thomson authorities in Canada, available should you be interested. Contact your nearest public library for such a list of reference texts. If you want to own a proper Tom Thomson collection, you can look up the artist (as a title) on the Advanced Book Exchange (ABE), which is a collective of old and antiquarian book dealers that appear online. You can start by looking up David Silcox, Blodwen Davies, William Little, Roy MacGregor, Audrey Saunders or Ottelyn Addison for their books on Thomson. Their respective bibliographies will give you the titles of other books and reference material, that were used to advance their research.

THE CHEAPSKATE COLLECTOR / HISTORIAN - HUNTING RESOURCE MATERIAL ON TOM THOMSON-

THE MISSION TO STAY ON BUDGET - OR AT LEAST CLOSE

WHEN I FREQUENTLY WRITE ABOUT MY WIFE AND I, TAKING OUR WEEKLY ANTIQUE JAUNTS, AND THE "ADVENTURES IN DISCOVERY" THEY MOST OFTEN BECOME BY CIRCUMSTANCE, THERE IS NO FICTION TO THE STORIES. IT CAN GET WEIRD OUT THERE, WITH THE THINGS WE FIND, AND PEOPLE WE COME ACROSS, WHO HAVE WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR. THERE ARE COINCIDENCE CONSTANTLY, THAT MAKE YOU WONDER WHO'S PULLING THE STRINGS. WE NOT ONLY FIND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, BUT A LITTLE EXTRA TO WRITE ABOUT. SERENDIPITY IS A GOOD WORD TO DESCRIBE OUR MISSIONS OF DISCOVERY. LET'S JUST SAY, WE COME HOME WITH SOME INTERESTING TALES…..AND LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER…..THERE'S NO FICTION INVOLVED. AS ANTIQUE DEALERS AND COLLECTORS, WE'VE OFTEN FOUND OURSELVES IN THE MOST CURIOUS SITUATIONS, ALL OF A SUDDEN, IN SHOPS AND HOMES AROUND OUR REGION. WE'VE COME IN CONTACT WITH MANY UNIQUE AND STORIED FOLKS, BY SIMPLE CONFLUENCE OF PROFESSION AND TRAVEL. IF YOU'RE DOING THE SAME AS US, THEN YOU KNOW HOW COINCIDENCE AND HAPPENSTANCE CAN CHANGE THE COURSE OF A DAY'S OUTING. WE JUST GO WITH THE FLOW. KARMA. OF THIS WE PAY EXTREME ATTENTION. HISTORY DOES REPEAT NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY.

THE AVERAGE ANTIQUE OUTINGS, OF COURSE, ARE ALWAYS HINGED ON FINDING PIECES TO BUY FOR RE-SALE (PAYS THE GAS AND GROCERIES FOR THE WEEK), AS WELL AS ACQUIRING SOMETHING THAT MIGHT FIT INTO OUR HOUSE, OR INFILL A NEEDED COMPONENT IN OUR NUMEROUS "ON-THE-GO" COLLECTIONS. I HAVE A LENGTHY LIST OF OUT-OF-PRINT AND RARE REGIONAL HISTORIES I WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE, WHEN THE PRICE AND OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS. THIS IS A TOUGH ORDER. JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE TARGETS, IT DOESN'T MEAN WE ARE TETHERED TO THEM. IT IS ALSO A REALITY, WE NEVER ARRIVE HOME WITHOUT SOME SUCCESSES IN TOW. MUSKOKA IS A GOOD PLACE TO HUSTLE-UP COLLECTIBLES. IT'S A GRIND AS MUCH AS IT IS RECREATIONAL.

IN 1989-90, I WALKED AWAY FROM TWO EDITORIAL POSITIONS, IN MUSKOKA, BECAUSE I COULDN'T AGREE WITH THEIR POLICIES, OR SECURE THE KIND OF ARRANGEMENT I WANTED WITH BOTH PUBLISHERS. I WAS LOOKING AFTER MY TWO WEE LADS, WHILE SUZANNE WAS BACK AT HER TEACHING JOB, AND WE ALSO HAD A BUDDING ANTIQUE BUSINESS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A TROUBLESOME EMPLOYEE. HARD TO MANAGE. VERY OPINIONATED. STRONG-WILLED AND ARGUMENTATIVE. I WAS AN EDITOR. I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PAIN IN THE ASS. IT WAS PART OF THE TERRITORY TO BUCK COMPLACENCY, AND GET AT THE STORY WITHIN THE STORY. IN MY DEFENSE, I WAS A PROLIFIC WRITER, WHO SELDOM IF EVER MADE AN ERROR IN PRINT, AND THERE WERE NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE VOLUME OF WORK I COMPLETED EACH AND EVERY WEEK. I SELDOM TOOK HOLIDAYS. I LOVED TO WRITE. IT MAY BE OBVIOUS ON THIS AND MY OTHER BLOGSITES. I WANTED TO WORK FROM HOME. IF I WAS CONTENTED AS A WRITER, I COULD FILL TWO NEWSPAPERS A WEEK. I HELD INTERVIEWS AT MY HOUSE REGULARLY. IT'S ALSO TRUE, MORE THAN ONE VISITOR LEFT, OUR HOUSE, WITH CHOCOLATE FINGERPRINTS ON THEIR PANTS. THE BOYS AND THEIR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. MOM MADE THEM!

I'M SURE BACK THEN, THOSE SAME NEWSPAPER MANAGERS FIGURED THEY'D KNOCKED ME OUT OF THE PARK…..AT LEAST IN THIS REGION. THERE WERE FEW OTHER PLACES TO WRITE. I TRIED RADIO BUT NEVER REALLY LOST MY NERVOUSNESS ON AIR. WHEN A FEW OF MY REPORTER CHUMS ASSUMED I WAS DONE AS WRITER, TO NEVER WHACK OUT COPY AGAIN ON THAT OLD UNDERWOOD MANUAL, SUZANNE ENCOURAGED ME TO IGNORE THEM, AND GET BACK TO WORK. OUTSIDE OF A VERY BRIEF HIATUS, I STARTED WRITING AGAIN. I JUST WASN'T GETTING PAID FOR PUBLISHED ARTICLES. BUT I FOUND, THERE WERE MANY OTHER REWARDS OTHER THAN A WEEKLY PAY CHEQUE. FOR ONE THING, I WAS ABLE TO ADVERTISE MY ANTIQUE BUSINESS. I'D GIVE THE NEWSPAPERS A SERIES OF FEATURE COLUMNS, ON LOCAL HISTORY, (FOR EXAMPLE), AND THEY WOULD PROVIDE ME WITH A SMALL ADVERTISING BLOCK. I DO THE SAME TODAY. IT WORKS OUT MUCH BETTER THAN IF I WAS A STAFFER. FOR ONE THING, I DON'T HAVE TO ATTEND RIDICULOUS ADMINISTRATIVE MEETINGS, TO HEAR PUBLISHERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE HIGH PRICE AND LOW PRODUCTIVITY OF REPORTING STAFF.

THE REAL ISSUE WAS BEING ABLE TO WORK FROM A MORE CONVENIENT LOCATION THAN A BUSY NEWSPAPER OFFICE. LOOKING AFTER THE BOYS MEANT THAT I NEEDED TO WORK AT HOME, WHICH WAS ONLYU A BLOCK AWAY FROM THE HERALD-GAZETTE OFFICE. WITH THE LOW WAGE I WAS GETTING, EVEN AS AN EDITOR, THERE WAS NO WAY WE COULD AFFORD DAYCARE. SUZANNE AND I MADE A PACT, BEFORE WE HAD KIDS, THAT THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE ONE OF US HOME TO LOOK AFTER THEM. IT WAS NON-NEGOTIABLE. AND WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED UP TO OUR OWN CONTRACT. SO I NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY AT HOME, AND WITH NUMEROUS COLUMNS AND FEATURES IN DEMAND, I HAD TO HAVE A LARGE QUANTITY OF AVAILABLE RESEARCH MATERIAL. THIS HERALDED A TIME IN MY COLLECTING LIFE, WHEN I HAD TO BRING THE THREE ACTIVE PROFESSIONS INTO ONE POSITIVE ACTION AFTER THE OTHER. AS A DEALER, I HAD TO SCOUT OUT THE BOOKS I NEEDED FOR RESEARCH. I COULDN'T AFFORD TO PAY MARKET VALUE FOR THESE MATERIALS, OR WE WOULD HAVE GONE BROKE. MOST OF THE REGIONAL HISTORIES I NEEDED, WERE PRICED FROM $40 A COPY TO $200. THERE WAS A VERY IMPORTANT ANGLICAN CHURCH HISTORY, IN THE DIOCESE OF ALGOMA, ON THE EARLY CHURCHES IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, FROM THE 1870'S, THAT I REALLY NEEDED. THE BOOK WAS LOANED TO ME BY A BOOK SELLER FRIEND, TO MAKE NOTES FROM. BUT THAT PIONEER TEXT WOULD HAVE SERVED, AS A BOUNTIFUL HERITAGE RESOURCE, ON DOZENS OF OTHER PROJECTS. I COULDN'T AFFORD THE $200 ASKING PRICE. IT WAS ACCURATELY PRICED, BUT ON OUR BUDGET, THERE WAS NO WAY. I HAD TO FIND A WAY TO GET WHAT I WANTED AT A FRACTION OF THE MARKET VALUE FOR THE SAME BOOKS.

While the antique dealer "me" was charged with finding the out-of-print books, I needed for my archives (to facilitate research for articles), the collector "me-also" had to make sure the book was worth the price, had all of its pages, was in good condition, and was priced sensibly, all considered. The historian "me" however, was broke. I couldn't buy these important resources through the business, because I didn't want to sell them. I couldn't really buy these as a collector, because I couldn't afford the luxury……that and the reality, I would have to use the book regularly, potentially damaging it, as researchers are known to do. The historian, you see, had to consider all of this, in advance, because the only deal that was going to fly, was if the antique hunter, and the collector, could donate their expertise, to find "cheap" or "bargain" copies of the titles most needed. You want to talk about discipline. I never thought I had it in me, to be so persnickety about price. So at this time, I made another pact…..this one with my other professions. Help me build an archives of regional histories on "the cheap." I didn't want to sacrifice anything in the process. Perfectly conserved books, with the information I needed, without needing to whip out a credit card to make the purchase. A tall order. But I did it.

When I mentioned in yesterday's blog, about acquiring a 1937 first edition of the Canadian Artist Series booklets, on "Tom Thomson," by Albert H. Robson, it was part of this ongoing necessity to buy affordably. I began this hunt and gather program, by late 1989. I've done pretty well considering the budget I've had to work with, and the competition for these specific titles in our area of Ontario. I have wanted this "Tom Thomson" book for the past twelve years, but I have not been able to afford it from antiquarian book dealers….especially in fine condition, with only a very slight fading of the green cloth covering on the spine. Seeing as I'm not re-selling this book, as an antique dealer, and I couldn't pay the price for one with a dustjacket, the $25. price fit the historian's budget very nicely. Seeing as I have written four Tom Thomson features series, in the past dozen years, it's certainly true, that I could have really used this reference book before now. Seeing as I'm only compensated with an advertisement, and not a regular pay cheque, for these submitted features, I simply can't afford to make exceptions, and pay market value. The clean, secure, well conserved book, is probably worth about $70, if you were to demand similar condition from an out-of-print book dealer. With all the books I needed, to build my own reference library, I could have easily invested $30,000 to $50,000, and still have missed buying everything I needed. My antique dealer resourcefulness however, was able to ferret-out a huge number of these books for well under $5,000. I've just had to be abundantly patient, and wait for opportunity to present.

In the case of research I was working on, regarding the mysterious death of Canadian painter, Tom Thomson, while paddling Canoe Lake (circa 1917), I found my first significant resource material in a collection of newspaper articles available locally, in a free publication known as The Weekender. A former Algonquin Park trapper / guide, by the name of Ralph Bice, wrote about Thomson's death as being accidental, occurring while the heavily drinking artist (just speculation), decided to pee overboard …….toppling out, and hitting his head on the canoe before entering the water. I had also been following other Thomson related articles in the local press, particularly stories about Judge William Little, who had written the 1970's ground-breaking book, "The Tom Thomson Mystery," where he refutes the accidental drowning theory, agreed-upon by an inadequate coroner's jury in July 1917. Mr. Bice did not believe in Judge Little's theory, and wrote to the contrary, that it was nonsense to believe Thomson had been murdered. The newspaper articles, and there were quite a few, cost me nothing. I went to the local Salvation Army Thrift Shop, here in Gravenhurst, (on the same day I read about the death of Judge Little), and coincidentally found a signed, first edition copy of his book, with dustjacket, and protective plastic cover, for the price of one dollar. This would normally be a $40 book, as a signed first edition. I was on my way. Judge Little's book, in my opinion, is still one of the most important resource books on Tom Thomson generally.

I went to a local second hand book shop, and tried to pick up some bargain "Thomson" biographies, of which there have been a few, even most recently. Outside of buying a few important ones, such as the landmark reference book, "Tom Thomson; Silence and the Storm," by David Silcox and Harold Town, and "Shorelines," by Roy MacGregor, there was no way I could afford to buy much more. So I wrote a small add-on note, in my regular newspaper column, asking if any one had books or newspaper clippings about Tom Thomson, they wouldn't mind loaning a poor tapped-out historian. One book shop owner, in Gravenhurst, gave me a large quantity of clippings and a few duplicates of books I already had. I was building quite a collection after only a couple of months. The point of this diatribe is, after so many published features on Thomson already, I'm still working on my "must have .…..must be able to afford" list. Due to the reality my family has suffered greatly, with all the research material I've surrounded them with, for years, I plan on leaving the archives to my boys…..who may one day make a small fortune on books and reference material, I've had to scrounge-up since the early 1990's. They should be able to do quite well for themselves, in fact, as I very seldom ever paid more than a quarter of the book's actual market value.

Even the cheap historian, would have been willing to spend a little more for the Robson book, because it is one I have long needed to fill the gap of information, about Thomson's work as a graphic artist. I've been able to get by without-it for so long, because I've concentrated instead, on the circumstances of his untimely demise; not his artistic life…….until now that is. Now I've got a wealth of knowledge at my finger-tips, thanks to dogged determination to acquire "cheaply." Getting the best for the least.

I want to share some insights about one of Canada's best known landscape artists, who had a short but incredible career as a painter……information recovered from this little gem purchased at the Gravenhurst Book Store, on Muskoka Road.

"PAINTER OF OUR NORTH COUNTRY, 1877-1917 - Except to a very limited number of friends, Tom Thomson is a remote and mystical figure who broke into the art firmament with a sudden and dazzling brilliancy, and then disappeared as suddenly into the great unknown. During the last decade his career has been wrapped in mists of mystery and half truths somewhat obscuring a clear vision of the man and his work. These facts remain, that in March, 1913, Thomson exhibited his first canvas, 'A Northern Lake,' at an exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists in Toronto. This picture was immediately purchased by the Ontario government. In July 1917 his tragic and unexpected death carried away, at the age of forty, a man who in those short intervening years left a profound and lasting imprint on the art of Canada. The work which he produced during those four years is sufficient to proclaim him, beyond question, one of the most significant painters in the art history of the Dominion."

Robson, in his 1937 text, (published by Ryerson Press), noted, "Thomson's truly amazing accomplishment is explainable mainly through the intensely passionate love he had for the lakes, woods and rolling granite-ribbed hills of the country he interpreted so sensitively and beautifully. He painted the lake country with fiery concentration, rarely traveling farther than his beloved Algonquin Park (Ontario), where Canoe Lake was his regular headquarters. Other Canadian artists had painted the north country before Thomson; it is both unfair and untrue to say that he discovered it as paintable material. But it is true to say, that he was the first painter really to interpret the north in its various subtleties of mood and feeling, free from influences of European traditions and formulas. His personal knowledge of the country and his inherent honesty, dictated its own technical methods of expression."

Insightfully, as a man who had known Thomson, from the graphics industry the two had worked, he writes, "It is not easy to explain in words the power and magic beauty of Thomson's sketches. There is a subtle insight revealed in the fluency of his expression, and intimate understanding that radiates from every brush stroke, lifting his paintings to the highest level of Canadian artistic achievement. He had that rare inner vision that sees beauty in subjects which would not commonly be called beautiful. Through the windows of his own eyes he interpreted intrinsic truths with unerring accuracy. While many of Thomson's sketches are amazingly facile, there was no conscious striving after cleverness; for cleverness is a superficial quality which casts a fog between us and true beauty of expression. In his work he adhered to the broad base of representation, weaving a selective concrete realism into a lyrical pattern glowing with vitality and sparkling with individuality."

Even though it was known of Tom Thomson, during his life, that he was abundantly generous with his paintings, giving them to many admirers without a dime of profit, and having been seen flinging finished (birch) panels into the Algonquin Lakes, because he didn't like them, it is not likely, even the most talented collector, will find original material in second hand shops or flea markets. If you were interested in the work of Thomson, there are thousands of options, to build a respectful, interesting, and somewhat valuable collection without ever owning an original sketch, or a framed art piece. Every few years you do hear about a Thomson painting, being found in a cottage or estate somewhere on the continent, and being sold at auction for a king's ransom. These events are rare. But there are many galleries that do showcase his work, and hundreds of books that document his painting years. My early research of the Tom Thomson mystery (I also agree with Judge Little's murder theory) actually inspired our whole family to begin camping in Algonquin Park, and visiting the many places where the artist had lived and painted while living in the region. I have canoed many times over the precise spot where Thomson is said to have gone missing, and then where his body was found floating in Canoe Lake. I have visited his memorial cairn, on Hayhurst Point, on Canoe Lake, and the ghost town of Mowat, where he was originally buried. It is said his body was exhumed for re-burial in Leith, Ontario, but an exhumation, in the 1950's, by Judge Little (on no authority to do so) found a body still in the Mowat Cemetery plot. What a crazy tale of one former painter and two grave sites, both which are supposed to be the final resting place.

"Thomson did not travel the well-trodden highways of derivative painting, but made trails of his own where no man had stepped before. His passion for the woods was so intense that he could paddle the lakes and streams, and camp under the stars by himself, apparently without any sense of loneliness. The feeling of personal kinship which he thus gained resulted in numerous sketches of widely varying moods of the north not usually observed by the more casual visitor," wrote Robson, of his former colleague.

In tomorrow's blog, I'd like to share a little more about Thomson, as assessed by Albert Robson, who provides some excellent information about the early career of this storied landscape artist. After desiring this same book for years, I have to tell you, it's a pleasure to finally, and affordably, be in its company. The material has been quoted, in part, by many other Thomson biographers, but much of it, for whatever reason, hasn't been fully utilized and appreciate by the public……wanting to know more about the painter of such iconic Canadian panels as "The Northern River," "The West Wind," and "The Jack Pine."

Please join me tomorrow, for a little more from this rare Canadiana, on the life, times and demise of Tom Thomson.