Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven

Ross King's well-received "The Judgment of Paris" convinced me that his 2010 book on Canada's "Group of Seven" would be informative and enlightening. I was right. King, apparently Canadian, details the emergence of the group pre-World War One, its struggle for recognition in a Canada, dominated by English art criticism and sensibilities, in an art world hostile to Canadian nationalism, and, finally post War, its acceptance in Canada as an artistic group worthy of museum wall space. The first part of the book deals primarily with Tom Thomson, his eccentric spirit, individuality, devotion to the backwoods, his extraordinary painting achievements and his untimely death by drowning in 1917. Though not the group's leader, the generous and supportive Lawren Harris, an artist of extraordinary scope and development, occupied that spot, Thomson's artistic force was - indeed - the group's focal point before and after his death. King adeptly juggles the separate lives of each of the seven actual members (J.E.H. MacDonald, F. H. Varley, Frank Johnston, A. Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frank Carmichael) and his thirty six (36) exquisite color plates acquaints the reader to the art of each. The group was intrinsically tied to the War and its aftermath; as King writes "they wanted to prove to the wider world; not merely Canadians, that Canadian art was modern, vital and unique - that Canada . . . could produce artists as well as soldiers."This review coincides with the closing of an exhibition of the Group of Seven called "Painting Canada" at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection near Toronto. I look forward to buying the book "Painting Canada" as soon as it is sold.

This review is for the kindle version. This format does not have any illustrations of the works discussed, no pictures at all! This is most unusual for an ART book and the reason for the lower rating.The text generally ,is well written, although I found the author likes to use, here in this particular book, multi-syllabic, obscure words that had me frequently accessing a dictionary. This was frustrating because I have enjoyed the author's previous books (hard copy) and found them informative, insightful and enjoyable. Most of the detail of the text is in the pre-first show, pre-1920 period. After that the information becomes sketchier. Perhaps he didn't consider the artists defiant anymore. Admittedly, including this later period and following up on their lives and art from the 1930s on would have made the book much longer. Perhaps a sequel volume would work. I did enjoy his documentation of the artists' formative years in Europe and during World War 1. His analysis of social and political cultures of the time were most enlightening and much needed as context..

Tremendous book - a real eye opener of a group of artists, and actually Canada in general. King is an excellent writer interweaving history, culture and individuals into what makes up this world.Book was delivered prior to time expected and in perfect condition ! Congrats.

What's an art history book doing without illistrations? One star for the publisher and five for the author.I feel disappointed.

Loved reading this book. It took an excellent viewpoint, the Groups modernism and what they were trying to accomplish with their work and their writings.

Canadian author Ross King has made a career of taking art history and crafting it into surprisingly enthralling bestsellers. Having previously read his fascinating book The Judgment of Paris, about the rise of French Impressionism, I was excited when I found out that King had written a book on some of my favorite artists, The Group of Seven. Defiant Spirits, published in 2010, tells the story of these groundbreaking painters who strove to forge a distinctly Canadian school of modernist painting at a time when Canada struggled to find its national identity.I have previously read several books on the Group of Seven, including F. B. Housser’s contemporary account A Canadian Art Movement, but their story has always felt incompletely told. Defiant Spirits is the most comprehensive history of the Group I’ve ever come across. Even so, for such an important group of artists, it still feels as if there’s surprisingly little extant documentation on their lives. The bulk of King’s book is comprised of historical context—what was going on in Canada at the time these painters were active. While the reader gets a meticulous history of Canada during World War I, for example, often the narrative of the artists’ lives just reads like a history of lakes they visited, with little concrete insight into what actually went on there. If the source material is sparse, however, King does a great job of wringing it for all it’s worth.As is often the case with books about the Group of Seven, some members are given preferential treatment over others. Here as usual Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, and J. E. H. MacDonald receive the most in-depth examination and are credited as the driving forces behind the formation of the Group, with Arthur Lismer and Frederick Varley regarded as second-tier members. King provides a surprising amount of information about Varley—in fact, far more than I’ve ever seen him covered in any other book on the Seven. As is often the case, Frank Johnston and Franklin Carmichael are treated as lesser contributors, perhaps because they were less actively involved in the promotion of the Group, but likely also because they generally get an unjustified lack of respect from art historians for producing the most “graphic” or “decorative” work of the original members, as opposed to the others’ more post-impressionistic style of painting. Carmichael is almost absent from King’s narrative, to a shameful degree. The later members to join the group—A. J. Casson, Edwin Holgate, and Lionel LeMoine Fitzgerald—are only mentioned by name once or twice in the epilogue. In a book where we get a mini-biography of every artist, critic, politician, and fishing guide the Group ever met, couldn’t King have at least given the same treatment to the three artists that the Group invited into their ranks?The book ends with the 1924 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, London, where the Group were featured in an exhibition showcasing Canadian art. This stopping point feels inconclusive because although the Group were praised by British critics, they still had failed to find much appreciation in their home country. In an epilogue, King explains that there is still little consensus among Canadians as to the value of their most famous painters. Fans of the Group of Seven, who are used to adulatory coffee-table treatments of the artists, will find King’s perspective surprisingly ambivalent. He takes a refreshingly even-handed approach, taking varying critical responses into consideration. Due to this rather dispassionate tone, Defiant Spirits may not be the page-turner that The Judgment of Paris was, but it is highly informative and fills in a lot of the blanks in the historical record of these remarkable artists’ lives and careers.

I have read most of King's other art history books, and I found this not quite as interesting as the others, but it did open up a world of art development of which I had not previously been aware. Be cautious of this version. The scanning of the book was not well-done, with many odd line breaks, uncapitilized acronyms, and note numbers that are in line with the text. Most frustrating is that the illustrations of the paintings referenced in the book are completely missing!

My cousin from Canada brought the topic of "the group of 7" to my attention recently because of the exhibition of Tom Thomson & the group in the Dulwich Museum in London. So we went early december 2011 and were absolutely taken by the gorgeous paintings presented there. I bought this book because I want to know more and I picked the right one, obviously.

We went to see the inspiring exhibition in Dulwich a while ago and loved all the colour and the stories. Our Canadian cousins in BC are very proud of the Group of 7 too.

👌👌👌👌👌

Ross King did not disappoint in his discussion of these important Canadian artists. The easy way would have been to present a series of biographies of the people involved, but Ross King did a perfect job of integrating the characters of the several people involved in a fascinating description of the evolution of this "School" of artists.I learned a lot about the history of Canada, the artists, and painting. A fascinating journey through art in the era of WW1.

An intelligent and insightful read--not only for its illumination of the "Algonquin School" and its members, but also for its wide ranging coverage of issues surrounding Canadian nationalism and identity, our distinguished role in the first war, and international movements in visual arts, literature and philosophy. It's quite a Rah Rah book about Canada and makes one proud. I was surprised by King's depth and scope--and through his anecdotes and meanderings learned a great deal, not only about the Algonquin painters, but also about Canadian and Toronto history. Highly recommended for those with a keen interest in Canadian and art history.