J.E.H MacDonald and his enormous contribution to Canadian art and identity

On My Beautiful Walk at Prospect Cemetery – Discovering J.E.H. MacDonald

On my beautiful walk today at Prospect Cemetery in west-end Toronto, just prior to Easter weekend, I discovered the grave of J.E.H. MacDonald—one of Canada’s most celebrated artists and a founding member of the Group of Seven.

In January 1913, MacDonald and fellow artist Lawren Harris travelled to the Albright Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, where they attended an exhibition of Scandinavian Impressionist landscape paintings. Inspired by the bold, expressive depictions of northern landscapes, the two artists saw the potential for a distinctly Canadian approach to landscape art.

I recently visited J.E.H. MacDonald’s home in Thornhill, Ontario.

This pivotal moment would help lead to the formation of the Group of Seven, a collective of artists who, through their brushstrokes, helped define the Canadian identity—not just in art, but in how we see and connect with the vast and varied land we call home.