1873–1932
Prospect Cemetery
Section 11 Lot 310
James Edward Hervey MacDonald was a founding member of Canada’s iconic Group of Seven, the collective that revolutionized Canadian art by breaking from European traditions and embracing the rugged northern landscape. Born in Durham, England, MacDonald immigrated to Hamilton, Ont., at 14, apprenticing as a lithographer while studying art at night. By the 1890s, he was working at Grip Ltd., Toronto’s leading design firm, where he mentored future Group members Tom Thomson and Arthur Lismer.
In 1911, MacDonald left commercial design to paint full-time, exploring Georgian Bay and later the Algoma region, which became his greatest source of inspiration. His 1916 canvas, The Tangled Garden, shocked critics with its bold colour and rhythmic design, signaling a decisive break from academic convention. When the Group of Seven held its first exhibition in 1920 at the Art Gallery of Toronto, MacDonald’s work embodied their mission: to create a distinctly Canadian art rooted in nature.
Despite financial hardship and fragile health, including a stroke in 1931, MacDonald continued to paint and teach. Appointed Principal of the Ontario College of Art in 1929, he helped mentor a generation of artists while producing masterpieces like Forest Wilderness and The Solemn Land. A poet as well as a painter, his writings echoed his belief that “Art must grow and flower in the land before the country will be a real home for its people.”
MacDonald died on November 26, 1932, aged 59, and was laid to rest in Prospect Cemetery. His vivid, lyrical and deeply Canadian canvases remain his most eloquent epitaph.
Sources:
• J. E. H. MacDonald – Wikipedia
• The Group of Seven – Official Site
• Mount Pleasant Group – J.E.H. MacDonald Story Archive
Photos:
• Headshot - Archives of Ontario, reference code F 1075-12-0-0-19, by M.O. Hammond, public domain
• Fine Weather, Georgian Bay, Art Gallery of Ontario Collection, by The Canadian Encyclopedia, public domain
• Leaves In the Brook, McMichael Canadian Art Collection by McMichael Art Gallery, public domain
• The Tangled Garden, National Gallery of Canada, public domain
• Algoma Waterfall 1920, McMichael Art Gallery, public domain
