David P. Silcox

David Brown Milne (1882 - 1953) was one of the great artists of his generation in North America, according to the American art critic Clement Greenberg, who compared Milne with John Marin and Marsden Hartley. This comprehensive and fully illustrated Catalogue Raisonné of Milne's paintings is the first catalogue on this scale to be published for any Canadian artist, and it will be a standard for many years to come. The nearly three thousand paintings in oil and watercolour that David Milne produced in his long career are presented here in chronological order. There are also two hundred large-format colour reproducitons of his work. Milne has long been a favourite of artists, art historians, curators, and collectors, and his high intelligence and fine sensibility are evident on every page of this remarkable work. Over a span of more than fifty years Milne devoted himself to painting and also to writing about painting - assessing his achievements against his goals, analysing aesthetic problems, describing a sequence or process, illuminating the origins of his inspiration. He wrote many hundreds of pages of notes, letters, and autobiographical accounts, most of them directly or indirectly about his art. Substantial quotations from his writings make the Catalogue Raisonné a highly readable reference work. Each entry in the catalogue contains a black-and-white reproduction of the work, the basic information about the medium, size, and date, its full provenance and exhibition history, all printed references to it, a complete list of the documents in which it is referred to, and supplementary information, such as comments by the authors, related drawings, and cross-references, as appropriate. Short essays introduce each period of Milne's life, providing useful biographical details and information on the paintings and their subsequent history. The Catalogue Raisonné also contains the major lists of paintings prepared by Milne over the years, key documents for any study of his work. There is a list of nearly six hundred exhibitions in which his work appeared with full details and a 1600-item bibliography. A comprehensive title index is also included.

This lavishly illustrated study tells the remarkable story of the work of one of Canada's great artists. David B. Milne (1882–1953) left rural Ontario for New York City in 1903. After training at the Art Students' League, he emerged as an exceptional modernist, one of the "American extremists" whose work was well-represented at the famous 1913 Armory Show and won a major prize at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Milne's studio at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue was a regular forum for artists to debate art and aesthetics. In 1916 Milne moved to Boston Corners, in upstate New York, devoting his whole time to painting. As he wandered over the years to the deserted battlefields of France and Belgium, to the Adirondacks, then back to Canada – Temagami, Palgrave, Muskoka, Toronto, Uxbridge, and Baptiste Lake – his work continued to evolve and change. Critics and other artists hailed him as one of the most original, intelligent, and innovative artists in Canada. His work is in the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and public galleries in Canada. Silcox's biography, based on many years of research for the Milne Catalogue Raisonné, has been described as "a near-perfect dialectic between biography and aesthetic analysis."It stands both as a definitive study of Milne and as a model for future biographies of Canadian artists. This gorgeous book, in a large format with 190 images in colour and 240 black-and-white illustrations throughout, will astonish and delight all those interested in art history, and in the life of a unique individual.

At a critical time in Canada's history, the Group of Seven revolutionized the country's appreciation of itself by celebrating Canada as a wild and beautiful land. These paintings of the wilderness evoke the same response in viewers today as they did when first exhibited. Now in paperback, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson is even more affordable than the celebrated original hardback edition. This award-winning bestseller includes many never-before reproduced paintings and presents the most complete and extensive collection of these artists' works ever published. The 400 paintings and drawings reveal the remarkable genius of all 10 painters who, at some point, were part of the movement. Tom Thomson, who died before the Group was established, was always present in the public mind. Included are works by: Frank Carmichael; Frank Johnston; A.J. Casson; Arthur Lismer; Le Moine FitzGerald; A.Y. Jackson; J.E.H. MacDonald; Lawren Harris; Tom Thomson; Edwin Holgate; F.H. Varley. The artwork is organized by the various regions of Canada, with additional sections on the war years and still-life paintings. Introductory essays provide a context for a greater understanding and appreciation of Canada's most celebrated artists.

This compact edition is identical to Silcox's 2003 award winning bestseller. The book is a comprehensive study of the famous Canadian art movement, its time, 400 full colour artworks are organised by region and theme, each group introduced by an essay. At a critical time in Canada's history, the Group of Seven revolutionised the country's appreciation of itself by celebrating Canada as a wild and beautiful land. These paintings of the wilderness evoke the same response in viewers today as they did when first exhibited. The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson includes many never-before reproduced paintings and presents the most complete and extensive collection of these artists' works ever published. The 400 paintings and drawings reveal the remarkable genius of all 10 painters who at some point were part of the movement. Tom Thomson, who died before the Group was established, was always present in the public mind. Included are works by: Frank Carmichael, Frank Johnston, A.J. Casson, Arthur Lismer, Le Moine FitzGerald, I.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, Edwin Holgate, F.H. Varley, A.Y. Jackson.The artwork is organised by the various regions of Canada, with additional sections on the war years and still-life paintings. Introductory essays provide a context for a greater understanding and appreciation of Canada's most celebrated artists.

Tom Thomson stands as the most important artist in Canadian history. A forerunner of the Group of Seven, Thomson crated paintings that shaped the way Canadian view their land. Although he died before he was forty, Thomson's compelling works ignited a powerful national art movement and created lasting icons for a young country. His mysterious death continues to stir speculation and spin off theories but he emotional response to his paintings is stronger than ever. This illustrated introduction to Thomson will provide all the background and insight readers need to appreciate his work. Sections include: Thomson's childhood on a farm near Owen Sound; and his early years; his career as a commercial artist; the influence of Lawren Harris and J.E.H. Macdonald; his increasing fame as an artist; his discovery of Algonquin Park and the mystery surrounding his death.