Tom Thomson The Last Spring

In the summer of 1917, Tom Thomson, one of Canada’s greatest artists, died tragically and mysteriously in Algonquin Park.

In The Last Spring, the reader comes very close to seeing Thomson’s last spring through his eyes by focusing on a small segment – a single season – of his sketches. In his last months, Thomson painted 62 sketches of the advancing spring and summer. He called these works his "records" and regarded the series as being of special importance. Over the years, the series has often been spoken of but never assembled in one place. This book focuses on the 38 works found to date – including 25 extraordinarily vivid images in colour.

Equally important, the book will examine Thomson’s work in the light of new information discovered about his life which will transform our perception of his work and bring it right up to date in terms of the art world.

Joan Murray is director of the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa. Among Murray's many other books are The Best of Contemporary Canadian Art and Tom Thomson: The Last Spring .