On Saturday, June 24, a new exhibition featuring a rare collection of Tom Thomson’s photographs will open at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound, running until September 2.

Fifty years after Tom Thomson’s death, his niece Jessie Fisk discovered a small bundle of photographic negatives that were captured by the artist during the last seven years of his life.

After she had them printed, an intimate glimpse into Thomson’s life and experiences emerged, including the people he was close to, the wildlife he encountered, and the environments he inhabited.

Field of Vision, curated and presented by the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, brings together all forty photographs that have been credited to Thomson alongside his painted sketches, as parallel forms of visual expression.

Although there is no evidence to suggest that Thomson envisioned his photographs as works of art, they offer another layer of perspective to our overall understanding of his distinct vision.

As Canadian curator and art historian Dennis Reid wrote, “if the artist’s usual form of expression is dependent upon the presentation of a moment of experience, as was Thomson’s, then the pertinence of even casual photographs is obvious.”

Photography’s adeptness at capturing spontaneous, fleeting moments with accuracy parallels the painterly approach that Thomson embraced while creating his iconic plein-air sketches.

The exhibition runs until Saturday, September 2.

The Art Gallery is also hosting a Sip and See Wine event on Wednesday, July 5, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The event is free with a cash bar and light fare.

The Gallery’s Director and Assistant Curator will be there to provide tours.

The Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is by donation, free with the OPEN Card.

Sara Angelucci’s exhibition Undergrowth also continues on view at the TOM until August 26.

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source: media release, TOM