tom thomson art gallery

Just an hour from Collingwood, stopping into the TOM was first on our agenda. Though I had hoped for a larger display of Tom Thomson's work, I appreciated Owen Sound making the effort to acknowledge his monumental career and securing the family donations that it has. It's a walk through pure, ultimate Canadiana and Thomson's respect and understanding of the northern landscape shines. The vintage letters he posted from camp were neat to have the opportunity to 'eavesdrop' on. The gallery itself is quite large, but the actual Thomson exhibit is a fifth of the size--even with an elaborate read-through and contemplation, you can be in and out within half an hour. Admission is by donation ($5 suggested).It would be great if the gift shop opted to include more Thomson prints for purchase, postcard size or otherwise. However, they do carry a fun line of hoodies and t-shirts that are Tom-centric.The gallery is a worthy tribute if you are a fan. Be sure to make the effort to drive to nearby Leith to see Thomson's grave as well. Those who have visited have left a touching shrine of used paintbrushes, poked into the ground below his headstone.

Aside from the superb collection of Thompson' s work, the current exposiition of three additional artists is terrific. The works showing WW 1 are riveting.....the works on Intrusions ( especially the Soviets) are seriously wonderful. Lastly, the work rebelling the current Federal Government is very thoughtful. A great hour of our time. And for Seniors, admission is free.

We loved this museum. It even has a Kurelek by the bathroom! The day we visited, there was a contemporary exhibit - knit socks alongside actual letters of thanks from WW1 soldiers back to the woman who had organized the socks and care packages. I cried my eyes out, the letters were so sweet, showing the characters of the writers and their situation in war. Made me think of the lovely woman/women knitting all those socks and sending them off to the boys overseas. Another room - another treat - William Ronald paintings, just gorgeous.Then to the actual Tom Thomson section, which was thoughtfully laid out and fascinating.Loved it all!

We found the gallery almost by accident. One of those "let's stop to look at the map HEY! there it is right across the street" moments. Parking was easy, too. It's a small gallery, but we easily spent over an hour there. Lots to read along with the works. We watched an early Canadian Film Board movie about Tom T first, and then walked around the three rooms which hold his work. They don't have any of the big canvasses, but there are lots of small paintings that he did quickly in the field. These were the studies that he took home and used as inspiration for the large paintings. I was surprised to learn that he painted for only four years before he drowned in Algonquin park. he had art jobs (more like advertising)before he started painting for himself. Too bad we had to lose him so soon and so young (40!).

We enjoyed our visit to the Tom Thomson Gallery very much. This is not a large gallery but well worth a visit if you are interested in Canadian art. There are no large paintings by Thomson on view. There is a collection of his oil sketches, many donated by members of his family, arranged in chronological order. The colours are so vibrant and fresh and it was a treat to see his sketches. There are information boards to read so you can better understand his development as an artist. There is not too much reading; it was just right.Entrance to the gallery is by donation, so please donate what you can and perhaps find something to buy in the gift shop. I enjoyed the sock installation and am so happy that someone saved the many letters Mrs. Simpson received from our Canadian soldiers. I must congratulate the individual who conceived the idea of this presentation and saw it to fruition. It was splendid. We enjoyed the time we spent at this gallery.

We took our ten year old grandson to Tobermory for a few days, but this museum was a "must" on our way back to Michigan. If you are in town this summer, you really should catch the wonderful exhibit regarding socks the local women made and sent to servicemen in WWI. The letters from the guys are sweet and gave us a small flavor of the hardships. The museum has a wonderful collection of very diverse paintings. The grandson had assumed he would be bored, but we basically had to drag him out after he learned more about the mystery around Thomson's death. I'm pretty sure he would have stayed several more hours watching the videos. No fee for entry, but the museum runs on donations.

It was interesting to learn about the life of Tom Thomson, read the letters he wrote while exploring the bush, and seeing some of his iconic paintings, beautiful Canadian landscapes.From here you can easily walk to the Fish Ladder at the Mill Dam (great to sea salmon swimming and jumping up stream, lots of them half October), to the Farmers' Market (Saturday) and to the artist Co-op to admire the art of local artists, and maybe buy some!

If you are in Owen Sound it is well worth it to visit the Tom Thomson art gallery which is in part of the Owen Sound library. Other art displays were very quirky & interesting. We also biked to Leith to find Tom Thomson's burial site. We looked every where in the cemetery & could not find his stone. There is a plaque pointing in a general direction but we could not find the stone. We had a lovely lunch in Leith at the General Store.Do not try to bike to Meaford on the Tom Thompson trail unless you take Road 12. Do not follow the map & go through the forest, it is a very rutted, rocky path that is impossible to navigate on a bicycle.

It was a thriill and delight to visit the Tom Thomson Gallery. How wonderful to see his work first hand and view the vivid fall colours and the realistic sheen of the water. A must to see if you are a Tom Thomson fan!

Admirateurs du " Group of Seven " et de Thom Thomson,Nous avons visité ce musée. Accueil sympa. Local sympa. Musée sympa. Mais une seule petite salle consacrée à Tom Thomson. Quelques petits tableaux. C'est tout. Déçus. Si vous aimez le Groupe des sept et Tom Thomson, alors allezplutôt à la galerie d'art Mc Michael de Kleinburg au nord de Toronto. FABULEUX.