1916.138
The Sumacs
Alternate title: Northern Sunset
Fall 1916
Oil on wood
8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (21.3 x 26.6 cm)
Inscription recto: l.r., estate stamp
Inscription verso: c., estate stamp; right of stamp, A557; c.r., in graphite, 1916; l.r., in graphite, 6-4; on old paper backing u.l., 1919 -Sent to me by my / Grandfather- one of the / two sketches allotted to / me from Tom's work. / Geo Thomson; l.l., 29/4/29/ The Sumacs / by Tom Thomson / Sketched at an early / period in his career as an artist / Property of Mr. & Mrs./ Geo.M.Thomson / March '32 - Arthur Lismer says / Tom painted this in the fall of 1916 / and that he and Tom were together at the time. In any event / he recollects clearly that this sketch / was made in the fall of 1916 / GMT / March 1947. Sketch has / 1916 in pencil on back / also has Tom's seal
Inscription verso: c., estate stamp; right of stamp, A557; c.r., in graphite, 1916; l.r., in graphite, 6-4; on old paper backing u.l., 1919 -Sent to me by my / Grandfather- one of the / two sketches allotted to / me from Tom's work. / Geo Thomson; l.l., 29/4/29/ The Sumacs / by Tom Thomson / Sketched at an early / period in his career as an artist / Property of Mr. & Mrs./ Geo.M.Thomson / March '32 - Arthur Lismer says / Tom painted this in the fall of 1916 / and that he and Tom were together at the time. In any event / he recollects clearly that this sketch / was made in the fall of 1916 / GMT / March 1947. Sketch has / 1916 in pencil on back / also has Tom's seal
Provenance
Exhibition History
National Gallery of Canada; Art Gallery of Ontario, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Tom Thomson, June 7–September 8, 2002, no. 115, (repr. col.) Traveled to: Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, October 5, 2002–January 5, 2003; Musée du Québec, Quebec City, February 6–April 3, 2003; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, May 30–September 7, 2003; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, September 29–December 7, 2003.
Published References
Murray, Joan. The Art of Tom Thomson. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1971. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 46, n11 as Northern Sunset.
McMichael Canadian Collection of Art. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition, 1965-1990. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1989, p. 24 (repr. col.)
Reid, Dennis and Charles C. Hill. Tom Thomson. Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre with the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada, 2002. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 138, 270 (repr. col.)
Remarks
Arthur Lismer moved to Bedford, N.S. in January of 1916 so he could not have been present when Thomson painted this sketch.
Record last updated June 14, 2018. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Murray, Joan. ""The Sumacs, Fall 1916 (1916.138)." In Tom Thomson Catalogue Raisonné. www.tomthomsoncatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=579 (accessed on May 14, 2025).