A. Y. Jackson

A. Y. Jackson CCCMGRCA
Jackson at work in theStudio Building,Toronto, 1944
Born	Alexander Young Jackson (1882-10-03)October 3, 1882 Montreal,Quebec, Canada
Died	April 5, 1974(1974-04-05)(aged 91) Kleinburg,Ontario, Canada
Education	Monument-National,Art Institute of Chicago,Académie Julian
Known for	Painter
Movement	Group of Seven

Alexander Young JacksonCCCMGRCALL. D. (October 3, 1882 – April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of theGroup of Seven.Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing together the artists ofMontrealandToronto.In addition to his work with the Group of Seven, his long career included serving as awar artistduring World War I (1917–19) and teaching at theBanff School of Fine Arts,from 1943 to 1949. In his later years he wasartist-in-residenceat theMcMichael Canadian Art CollectioninKleinburg, Ontario.

Early life and training

Jackson was born in Montreal, the son of Eliza Georgina (Young) and Henry Allen Jackson.As a young boy, Jackson worked as an office boy for alithographcompany, after his father abandoned his family of six children. It was at this company that Jackson began his art training. In the evenings, he took classes at theArt Association of Montreal(1902).

In 1905, Jackson worked his way toEuropeon a cattle boat, returning by the same means and travelling on toChicago.In Chicago, he joined a commercial art firm and took courses at theChicago Art Institute.He saved his earnings and, by 1907, was able to visitFranceto studyImpressionism.In France, Jackson decided to become a professional painter, studying at theAcadémie Julianin PariswithJ. P. Laurens.Some of his most important artistic development was at theÉtaples art colony,which he first visited in 1908 with his New Zealand friendEric Spencer Macky.Jackson painted hisPaysage Embruméthen and, to his surprise, it was accepted by the Paris Salon.Returning in 1912, he stayed with the AustralianArthur Baker-Clack(1877–1955). From this period date the ImpressionistSand dunes at CucqandAutumn in Picardy,in both of which he used brushstrokes of high-keyed colour.Autumn in Picardywas bought by theNational Gallery of Canadain 1913.

Professional career

Red Maple(1914), by A. Y. Jackson

When Jackson returned to Canada, he settled inSweetsburg, Quebec,where he began painting works such as the ImpressionisticEdge of the Maple Wood.He held his first exhibition at theArt Association of MontrealwithRandolph Hewtonin 1913. Unable to make ends meet and discouraged by the Canadian art scene, he considered moving to the United States. However, he received a letter fromJ. E. H. MacDonaldwhich changed his mind. MacDonald inquired about theEdge of the Maple Wood,which he had seen at a Toronto art show, informing Jackson that Toronto artistLawren Harriswanted to purchase the painting if he still owned it.

After the purchase, Jackson struck up a correspondence with the two Toronto artists, often debating on topics related to Canadian art. Jackson soon began visiting Toronto. Dr.James MacCallumconvinced Jackson to relocate to Toronto by offering to buy enough of his paintings for one year to guarantee him a living income.He moved into theStudio Buildingwhich was financed by Lawren Harris and Dr.James MacCallum.Harris, overseeing construction of the building, was too busy to concentrate on his own artistic endeavours and loaned his own studio space, over the Commerce Bank branch at the northwest corner of Yonge and Bloor streets, to the newly arrived Montrealer, A. Y. Jackson. The spot is now occupied by the 34-storey 2 Bloor West.

Jackson was a welcome addition to the Toronto art scene, having traveled in Europe and bringing with him a respected – though as yet not particularly successful – talent. The canvas taking shape while he waited to move into the Studio Building,Terre Sauvage,became one of his most famous. In January 1914 the Studio Building was ready for occupation.Tom Thomsonwas another of the first residents of the building and shared a studio with Jackson for a year.Like the other Group of Seven painters, Jackson embraced landscape themes and sought to develop a bold style. An avid outdoorsman, Jackson became good friends with Tom Thomson, and the duo often fished and sketched together, beginning with a trip to Algonquin Park in fall 1914.Inspired by Thomson, Jackson and the other painters who would one day be known as theGroup of Sevenundertook trips toAlgonquin Park,Georgian Bay,Algomaand theNorth Shore.

With the outbreak ofWorld War I,Jackson enlisted in theCanadian Army's 60th battalion in 1915. Soon after he reached the front he was wounded at the Battle of Sanctuary Wood in June 1916 and found himself once more at Étaples in the hospital there.While recovering from his injuries, he came to the attention ofLord Beaverbrook.He was then transferred to the Canadian War Records branch as an artist. Here, Jackson would create important pictures of events connected with the war.He later worked for theCanadian War Memorialsas anofficial war artistfrom 1917 to 1919.Jackson produced forty-five artworks for the organization, including the powerfulA Copse, Evening(1918)--a grim depiction of the catastrophic effects of theFirst World Waron the Belgian landscape.A large number of his war paintings are in theCanadian War Museumin Ottawa.

On his return from WWI, Jackson again took up residence at the Studio Building. He removed Tom Thomson's easel, made by Thomson's own hand, from his studio and used it for all the subsequent pictures he produced in the Studio Building. Shortly after he returned from wintering on Georgian Bay, he learned that in his absence he had been included in an informal group of Studio Building artists, exhibiting for the first time, called theGroup of Seven.

TheBeaver Hall Groupwas formed in Montreal in May 1920 with A. Y. Jackson as president. In his opening speech, Jackson emphasized the right of the artist to paint what they feel "with utter disregard for what has hitherto been considered requisite to the acceptance of the work at the recognized art exhibitions in Canadian centres." Schools and 'isms' do not trouble us ", he maintained," individual expression is our chief concern ".He identified its goals as being those of the Group of Seven, and over the years Jackson maintained the contact between Toronto and Montreal, supporting and stimulating the Montreal artists through regular visits, painting with artists such asAlbert H. Robinsonand others at various scenic locations, and correspondence. He kept them informed of events in Toronto and arranged for their works to be included in the Group of Seven exhibitions.It is through this kind of contact that he made lifelong friends of Beaver Hall artistsAnne Savage,Sarah RobertsonandKathleen Morris.

Jackson enjoyed painting landscapes from his native Quebec and did so for many years. Beginning in late February 1921, and for more than two decades, A.Y. Jackson explored the many topographies and villages of the Lower Saint Lawrence. He first visited Baie-Saint-Paul on the north shore in 1923.In his autobiography, he wrote:

at first, in my painting, I was interested in the old farm houses, in the barns and the trees. Later it was snow that captured my attention; the sun and the wind continually changed its colours and texture.

In 1932, Jackson depicted theFalconbridgesmelter near Sudbury, in his paintingSmoke Fantasy.He then began efforts at government lobbying, pleading in a letter to theminister of Lands and ForestsWilliam Finlaysonto preserve from logging what becameKillarney Provincial ParkandTrout Lake.The latter was renamed O.S.A. Lake in honour of theOntario Society of Artistswhich had taken it into trust. Jackson's efforts were rewarded with the naming of a lake after him on his 90th birthday.

In 1938, Jackson visited the mine-site of the isolatedRadiummineatPort Radium, Northwest Territories,in 1938.Jackson was a friend of prospectorGilbert LaBine,then the mine manager, and flew to the site with him, where he paintedRadium Mine.

During the Second World War, Jackson became one of the central figures in the development of the Canadian War Art Program in 1943. Working with theNational Gallery of Canada,he played a pivotal role in organizing the largest public art project in Canadian history: the Sampson-Matthews silkscreen print program in 1942.

Jackson left theStudio Buildingin 1955 withLawren Harrismourning, in a letter from Vancouver, "Your moving from the Studio Building marks the end of an era, the one era of creative art that has the greatest significance for Canada... You were the real force and inspiration that led all of us into a modern conception that suited this country, and the last to leave the home base of operations."

Group of Seven

Group of seven artists:Frederick Varley,A. Y. Jackson,Lawren Harris,Fairley,Frank Johnston (artist),Arthur Lismer,andJ. E. H. MacDonald

In 1919, Jackson and six painter colleagues formed theGroup of Seven.These artists were considered to be bold, because the Canadian northern landscape had previously been considered too rugged and wild to be painted.Like the other members of theGroup of Sevenmany of his works began as tinyen plein airsketches in oil on hardboard.Although his name is conventionally associated with this group, he would also remain something of a loner throughout his life.

In 1925, he taught at theOntario College of Artin Toronto; this was the only year that he missed his annual spring trip to Quebec.In 1933, Jackson, along with Harris, was a founding member of theCanadian Group of Painters.Several members of the Group of Seven became members of this group, includingA. J. Casson,Arthur LismerandFranklin Carmichael.

Later years

In 1943, Jackson first traveled to the Yukon withHenry George Glyde.He returned to the Yukon in 1964, this time with fellow artists Ralph Burton and Maurice Haycock, traveling by plane over the landscape.In 1954 he was one of 18 Canadian artists commissioned by theCanadian Pacific Railwayto paint amuralfor the interior of one of the newPark carsentering service on the newCanadiantranscontinental train. Each the murals depicted a different national or provincial park; Jackson's wasKokanee Glacier Provincial Park.In 1953, a majorretrospectivetitledA. Y. Jackson: Paintings 1901–1953was held at theArt Gallery of OntarioandNational Gallery of Canadaof his work. Jackson moved to the Ottawa region in 1955, settling inManotick.He maintained a studio in downtown Ottawa from 1963 to 1968.

He was often accompanied on his peripatetic painting trips by artists such asAlbert H. RobinsonandRandolph Hewton.In his later years, on trips to the Ottawa Valley region, the Gatineau Hills, the Lievre River Valley and Ripond he was accompanied by friend, painter and former studentRalph Wallace Burton,and fellow painters Maurice Haycock and Stuart D. Helmsley.One such venture almost ended in disaster: "[I]n the 1950s, when Ralph and A.Y. were painting on the banks of the Ottawa River at Deux Rivieres, a bullet ricocheted off a rock where Jackson was sitting."

In 1958, he publishedA Painter's Country,an autobiography dedicated to the memory of Group of Seven memberJ. E. H. MacDonald,who "visualized a Canadian school of painting and devoted his life to the realization of it".

In 1964, Jackson submitted his own design during theGreat Flag Debate.It was similar in design to thePearson Pennant.

In 1965, Jackson had a serious stroke that put an end to his painting career. He recuperated at the home of friend and painter Ralph Wallace Burton, and later moved to the McMichael Conservation Estate inKleinburg,Ontario. Jackson died in 1974, over the Easter holiday in a nursing home in Toronto. He is buried on the grounds of theMcMichael Canadian Art Collection.His nieceNaomi Jackson Grovespublished several books about his life and work includingTwo Jacksons(2000), an account of a shared trip through France and Germany in 1936.

Honours

• In 1941, Queen's University, Kingston gave Jackson an LL.D..
• In 1946 Jackson was appointed a Companion of theOrder of St Michael and St George.
• In 1962, the University of Saskatchewan gave Jackson an LL.D.
• In 1967 Jackson was appointed a Companion of theOrder of Canada.
• A. Y. Jackson Secondary Schoolin Toronto was named after Jackson.He attended the opening of the school in 1970.
• A. Y. Jackson Secondary Schoolin Ottawa is also named after him and opened in 1976.
• In 1970, theRoyal Canadian Academyawarded Jackson its medal for lifetime achievement.
• The A. Y. Jackson Lookout onHighway 144inSudburyoverlooks the waterfall depicted in Jackson's 1953 paintingSpring on the Onaping River.
• The Ottawa River Institute has established an A. Y. Jackson Trail in his honour.

Quotes from A. Y. Jackson

Of Algoma, he wrote:

Sketching here demanded a quick decision in composition, an ignoring or summarizing of much of the detail, a searching‒out of significant form, and a colour analysis that must never err on the side of timidity. One must know the north country intimately to appreciate the great variety of its forms. The impression of monotony that one receives from a train is soon dissipated when one gets into the bush. To fall into a formula for interpreting it is hardly possible.

Paintings

• 
  Cathedral at Ypres, Belgium,1917,McMichael Canadian Art Collection,Kleinburg,Ontario
• 
  House of Ypres,1917–18,Canadian War Museum,Ottawa,Ontario
• 
  Gas Attack, Lievin,1918, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario
• 
  Vimy Ridge from Souchez Valley,1917, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario
• 
  The Pimple, Evening,1918, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario

See more

• Canadian official war artists
• War art
• The Studio Building,Toronto, the home and working studio of several Group of Seven painters

References

Further reading

• Boulet, Roger; Group of Seven; Tom Thomson (1982),The Canadian Earth,M. Bernard Loates,Cerebrus Publishing,ISBN0920016103
• Brandon, Laura.War Art in Canada: A Critical History.Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2021. ISBN 978-1-4871-0271-5.
• Burant, Jim.Ottawa Art And Artists: An Illustrated History.Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2022.ISBN978-1-4871-0289-0
• Hunter, Douglas (2022).Jackson's Wars: A.Y. Jackson, the Birth of the Group of Seven, and the Great War.McGill-Queen's University Press.RetrievedDecember 2,2023.
• MacDonald, Colin S. (1977).A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, vol. 2(Third ed.). Ottawa: Canadian Paperbacks Publishing.RetrievedOctober 8,2020.
• Waddington, Jim; Waddington, Sue (2016).In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven(paperback ed.). Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions.ISBN978-0-86492-891-7.
• GROUP OF SEVEN: A.Y. JACKSON - Rookleys Canadian Art

External links

• Order of Canada citation
• The Canadian Encyclopedia, A.Y. JacksonArchivedJune 28, 2012, at theWayback Machine
• CBC Digital Archives – The Group of Seven: Painters in the Wilderness
• Canadian Landscape– an online documentary at NFB.ca
• 1928 A.Y. Jackson and Frederick BantingNWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
• A. Y. Jackson, Lethbridge College Buchanan Art Collection
• A Painter's Country on Amazon
• A. Y. Jackson fondsArchivedApril 30, 2021, at theWayback Machineat theNational Gallery of Canada
• N. D. Young fondsArchivedJune 2, 2021, at theWayback Machineat theNational Gallery of Canada