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Catalogue entry
1917.30
Lowery Dickson's Cabin
Alternate titles: Artist's Hut; The Artist's Hut
Spring 1917
Oil on wood
8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (21.3 x 26.6 cm)
Inscriptions verso: u.l., graphite, 11A; u.l., in graphite, NG; u.l., in graphite, THE ARTIST HUT; u.r., in graphite, Rom Gold; c., label, c.l., Elsie Perrin Williams Memorial Art Museum, London, Ont.
Provenance
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (1528)
Exhibition History
1922 Thomson NGC
1922.1922 Thomson Owen Sound
1922.1924 Wembley
British Empire, Palace of Fine Arts, Wembley Park, London, British Empire Exhibition, Section of Fine Arts, April 23–October 31, 1924, no. 242. Traveled to: Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, November 12–December 12, 1924; Kelvingrove Art Galleries, Glasgow, United Kingdom, December 1924–January 17, 1925; City of Birmingham Municipal Art Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom, January 30–March 31, 1925.1927 Saskatoon
Nutana Collegiate Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, November 11–12, 1927.1930 Canoe Lake
Camp Ahmek, Canoe Lake, Ontario, Canada, Tom Thomson, August 13, 1930.1932 Thomson
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Imperial Economic Conference, July 18, 1932–January 23, 1933, no. 6.1941 Thomson
Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Horatio Walker - Tom Thomson, January 1941.1955 Thomson
National Gallery of Canada, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Tom Thomson Travelling Exhibition: Sketches and Painting from the National Gallery of Canada Collection, November 10–December 6, 1955, as The Artist's Hut. Traveled to: Calgary Allied Arts Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, December 13, 1955–January 1, 1956; University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, February 2–22, 1956; Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, March 1–8, 1956; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, March 13–25, 1956; University of British Columbia, Fine Arts Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, April 3–28, 1956; Regina Public Library, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, May 5–25, 1956; Saskatoon Art Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, June 1–21, 1956; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, July 1–30, 1956; Sarnia Public Library, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, August 1956; Kitchener-Waterloo Art Association, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, October 8, 1956; Yarmouth Art Society, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, October 31–November 12, 1956; Colchester Chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.), Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, November 15–24, 1956; Louisburg Chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.), Louisburg, Nova Scotia, November 27–December 6, 1956; Amherst Art Association, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, December 10, 1956–December 24, 1965; Moncton Society of Art, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, January 24–February 2, 1957; Fredericton Art Club, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, February 6–20, 1957; University of New Brunswich, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, February 20–March 6, 1957; Art Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, March 9–20, 1957; Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, April 4–18, 1957; Nova Scotia College of Art, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, April 18–May 1, 1957; Glenhyrst Gardens, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, June 22–July 2, 1957; London Public Library and Art Museum, London, Ontario, July–September 1957; Willistead Library and Art Gallery, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, October 1–November 5, 1957; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, November 15–December 15, 1957.1956 Thomson
Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Tom Thomson Exhibition, 1877 - 1917, September–October 1956, no. 29.1957 Thomson London
London Public Library and Art Museum, London, Ontario, Tom Thomson 1877 - 1917, George Thomson 1868 -, July 6–September 6, 1957, no. 29.1957 Thomson Windsor
Willistead Art Gallery, Windsor, Tom Thomson 1877 - 1917, October 6–November 2, 1957, no. 27.1958 Los Angeles
National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Cultural Exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Tom Thomson, January–March 1958.1969 Thomson
Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, Paintings by Tom Thomson: The Second Anniversary Exhibition, May 23–June 15, 1969, no. 9.1971 Thomson
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, The Art of Tom Thomson, October 30–December 12, 1971, no. 54, (repr.) Traveled to: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, January 15–February 3, 1972; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, February 25–March 31, 1972; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, April 14–May 28, 1972; Confederation Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, July 2–September 5, 1972.1995 Thomson
Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Tom Thomson. The Last Spring, May 4, 1995–January 7, 1996, no. 25.2002 Thomson
National Gallery of Canada; Art Gallery of Ontario, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Tom Thomson, June 7–September 8, 2002, no. 137, (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, 2003.2004 St. Petersburg
Art Gallery of Ontario, Alexander Hall, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Tom Thomson, September 10–November 14, 2004, no. 56.2011 Dulwich
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, October 19, 2011–January 8, 2012, no. 41, Pl. 36 (repr. col.) Traveled to: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway, January 29–May 13, 2012; The Groninger Museum, Groninger, the Netherlands, June 3–October 28, 2012.Published References
Buchanan 1945
Buchanan, Donald W. Canadian Painters from Paul Kane to the Group of Seven. Oxford & London: Phaidon Press, 1945, pl. III as The Artist's Hut.Canadian 1946
[unknown title]. Canadian Geographic Journal (October 1946), (repr. col.)Colgate 1946b
Colgate, William. Two Letters of Tom Thomson, 1915 & 1916. Weston, ON: The Old Rectory Press, 1946, (repr. col.)Canadian Art 1947
[unknown title]. Canadian Art (Christmas 1947), (repr. col. cover).Saunders 1947
Saunders, Audrey. Algonquin Story. Toronto: Department of Lands and Forests, 1947, p. 172.Little, R.P. 1955
Little, R.P. "Some Recollections of Tom Thomson and Canoe Lake." Culture 16, no. 2 (June 1955), p. 204.Hubbard 1960b
Hubbard, R.H. National Gallery of Canada, Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. Vol. III, Canadian School. Ottawa, Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1960, pp. 296, as The Artist’s Hut (repr.)Addison 1969
Addison, Ottelyn, Elizabeth Harwood. Tom Thomson, The Algonquin Years. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1969, p. 65.Little 1970
Little, William T. The Tom Thomson Mystery. Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1970, pp. 35, 216, 218.Murray 1971
Murray, Joan. The Art of Tom Thomson. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1971. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 38, 76 (repr.)Murray 1986a
Murray, Joan. The Best of Tom Thomson. Edmonton: Hurtig, 1986, p. 82 (repr. col.)Murray 1994a
Murray, Joan. Tom Thomson: The Last Spring. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1994, p. 42 (repr. col.)Reid and Hill 2002
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. 124, 174, 331n78 (repr. col.)Silcox 2003
Silcox, David P. The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson. Toronto: Firefly Books, 2003, p. 232 (repr. col.)Dejardin 2011
Dejardin, Ian. Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven. London: Dulwich Picture Gallery, 2011. Exhibition catalogue, p. 103 (repr. col.)Remarks
The sketch, once titled The Artist's Hut, actually belonged to Lowery Dickson, who was a retired shantyman, according to R.P. Little 1955, 31. Little identifies the figures as Mrs. Fraser (green) and Mrs. Crombie (red) (see 35, 37). In a letter to the National Gallery of Canada, 26 March 1949, Dr.Little writes that he helped build the cabin and "was there" (see the Accession file on this sketch). The spelling of Mr. Dickson's name follows the advice of his great granddaughter, Maggie Fulton.
Record last updated February 16, 2016. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Murray, Joan. ""Lowery Dickson's Cabin, Spring 1917 (1917.30)." In Tom Thomson Catalogue Raisonné. www.tomthomsoncatalogue.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=666 (accessed on May 10, 2025).