Tom Thomson is one of the greatest artists Canada ever produced

When Tom Thomson was two months old, his parents moved to a farm in Leith, on the Bruce Peninsula. This is where my journey began on my return visit from Manitoulin Island. With a framed, numbered print of Tom Thomson’s and a paintbrush in hand, I arrived at Leith United Church in the small hamlet of Leith, Ontario, a short distance from Owen Sound. There, behind this small, well-maintained church and its quiet churchyard, I discovered the grave of one of my favourite artists—Tom Thomson.

As many Canadians know, Tom Thomson drowned on July 8, 1917, in Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario. His overturned canoe was found that same afternoon, and his body was recovered eight days later, on July 16. Tom was only 39, and on the verge of international recognition for his extraordinary Canadian landscapes.

Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park. 

Thomson was initially buried at Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, but at his family’s request, his body was exhumed and reinterred in the family plot in Leith.

Tom Thomson was known to enjoy the finer things money could buy—silk shirts, fine dining, and expensive pipe tobacco. Fortunately for us, he also invested in the best paints, brushes, and wood panels available at the time, which is one reason the quality of his work remains so beautiful today.

Twenty-three year old Tom Thomson. 

Thomson surrounded himself with so much natural beauty that he once said, “The best I can do does not do the place much justice in the way of beauty.” I would argue otherwise.

1877-1917

Thomson’s third youngest brother, James Brodie Thomson, passed away very young, in 1883 lies here along with his maternal grandfather, Kenneth Mathison.

Photos of my camping and canoe trip on Grand Lake, Algonquin Park to the exact site where Tom Thomson painted his famous painting, “The Jack Pine”, between winter 1916 and 1917.

The fire ranger cabin where Tom Thomson lived and painted during the summer of 1916.

*All photos owned by Phil Crawford except studio photo of Tom Thomson and his art pieces.