Tom Thomson and the 1915 May Two-Four Weekend

Something very rare happened on the "May Two-Four Weekend" in 1915. A volcano that had been sleeping for about 27,000 years suddenly woke up at about 4:00 pm Saturday afternoon. Lassen Peak in northern California produced a violent explosion that ejected rock and pumice high into the atmosphere. This explosion was the most powerful in a series of eruptions from 1914 through 1917.

On May 22, 1915, an explosive eruption at Lassen Peak, California, the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range, devastated nearby areas and rained volcanic ash as far away as 300 km to the east. 

Tom Thomson was staying at Mowat Lodge on Canoe Lake, busy painting before the black flies emerged and waiting for guiding and fishing to occupy his time. Tom would have been oblivious to how a faraway volcano might influence his choice of pigments. Thankfully, Tom painted what he saw.  

World War One, the so-called first "Great War" was still raging in Europe. Tom's artist friends had dispersed to participate in that conflict in one way or another. Sadly, they were unable to accompany him on his last artistic adventures which ended prematurely with his death in July of 1917. On the positive side, Thomson was finding his own, unique artist voice and creating magnificent work.

Three years later, in the spring of 1918 Lawren Harris and J.E.H. MacDonald faced a virtually impossible task to sort through the two or three hundred panels that Tom had created in their absence. The undocumented panels were stacked high in Thomson's Shack. 

His friends attempted to sort through the paintings selecting what they felt were the best works to establish Tom's legacy. The Estate Stamp applied to the front and back of the panels would authenticate his art. Tom only signed the panels when asked to do so. He certainly never bothered to put names on his paintings. In fact, Tom rarely made any mention of the inspiration for his paintings leaving the art to speak for itself.  As a result, this was a gargantuan but essential task for his friends. Many of Tom's originals had already dispersed to the wind to anyone who took a passing appreciation for his brush strokes.  

The estate stamp typically in the lower right often resulted in some paint eventually flaking off. The panels salvaged from The Shack and organized in the Studio building all display the stamp.

Harris and MacDonald certainly were enthralled with Tom's art but had little or no first-hand knowledge of the story behind them. They had to rely on their own devices to create plausible titles based on the subject matter and possible locations. MacDonald had never been to Algonquin. Well-intentioned mistakes were made. These are easily forgiven. Those errors still remain in the Tom Thomson Catalogue Raisonné but there is hope!

Using science and topographical maps, we can correct those mistakes - something that I have been doing since the mid-1980s. As an example, it is interesting that more than a century later, we can trace Tom's movements on the Victoria Day weekend of 1915 using only his art and a volcanic eruption in California. Please let me explain. 

From detailed research into Tom's movements, we can be fairly certain that Tom was at Canoe Lake on the weekend of May 24th, 1915. Tom was likely staying at Mowat Lodge but occasionally ventured to his favourite haunt on Hayhurst Point less than a kilometre to the east. 

Thomson Travels 1915

• March 13 – April 10: Ontario Society of Artists Forty-third Annual Exhibition, Toronto. Thomson exhibits Northern River, Split Rock and Georgian Bay Pines. Northern River is bought by the National Gallery of Canada for $500. His address is given as Studio Building, Severn Street.
• Mid-March: Arrives in Algonquin Park, via Huntsville, where he stays at the home of Winifred Trainor for two days; he travels to Tea Lake and Big Cauchon Lake; in the Kearney area, he stays at McCann’s Halfway House.
• A.Y. Jackson had returned to Quebec, evidenced by a letter to his sister Kate, dated April 18th, 1915, which he sent from Emileville Quebec. In it, he discusses his intention to join the army. His attestation papers show that he enlisted on June 14, 1915.
• April 28 – May 19: Thomson and George Rowe guide the Johnston Brothers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Pine River; they travel to Tea Lake. On their return, Thomson and Rowe travel to Big Bear Lake.
• May 24 Weekend...
• July 17: Assists H.A. Callighen in bringing tourists from Joe Lake Station to Smoke Lake by canoe.

A case can be made that links four of the 1915 paintings using colours, the volcano, the parade of weather across Canoe Lake and science.

I propose that these four sequential paintings recorded every sunrise and sunset at Canoe Lake starting on the evening of Saturday, May 22nd, 1915 - the day that Lassen Peak erupted. The potential paintings are included in above. Brief explanations follow. Detailed analysis and diagnosis of each painting can be found in the linked blogs.  Please ignore the official names of the artwork which identify them all as sunsets - two of the four were certainly sunrises. 

Sunset, Saturday May 22nd, 1915

On the late afternoon of Saturday, May 22nd, Thomson was visiting his favourite site on Hayhurst Point. He recorded the backlit clouds looking westerly at sunset in Painting 1.  A spring weather system was approaching. The details are explained in Tom Thomson's Sunset Sky, Summer 1915. Harris and MacDonald were correct in identifying this as a sunset. I feel they missed the mark by identifying the season as summer perhaps because the name "Sunset, Spring" had already been used in  Painting 2. Tom typically spent his summer guiding and fishing. He did not paint much in the summer because of pesky biting insects. The clouds are also not overly convective as one would expect in mid-summer.  

Sunrise, Sunday May 23rd, 1915

At dawn on Sunday, May 23rd, Tom was on the shore in front of Mowat Lodge looking easterly to observe strong sunrise colours in the backlit clouds. The unusual sunrise colours would have penetrated Tom's room on the second floor of Mowat Lodge. Tom must have been compelled to grab his oils and make a weather observation. For a detailed analysis see Tom Thomson's Sunset Sky, Spring 1915. The terrain features of the eastern shore of Canoe Lake as well as those recorded in other Thomson paintings confirm the easterly view. The clouds also confirm that Tom was observing the wake of a cold front. The weather system that had been approaching at sunset on Saturday had crossed Canoe Lake overnight probably bringing precipitation overnight. 

Harris and MacDonald would have incorrectly interpreted the strong colours as a sunset sky unaware that the higher level volcanic aerosols transported by the jet stream had already arrived over Canoe Lake.

Tome would have been interested in the strong colours exhibited in the sky all day Sunday. There could be other paintings to include in this sequence. We can be certain that Tom paddled over to his Hayhurst Point haunt to observe the vivid sunset colours looking west. 

Sunset, Sunday May 23rd, 1915

The details of the analysis and diagnosis can be found in Tom Thomson's "Sunset" 1915. Harris and MacDonald called Painting 3 "Sunset" from the summer of 1915. They were certainly correct about the sunset part but the season was spring right after the volcanic eruption. Matching the terrain features confirms that Tom was looking westerly across Canoe Lake. The jet stream had already delivered the next low-pressure system in the parade of weather. This time the strong winds also brought thicker concentrations of volcanic aerosols dramatically influencing the sunset colours. Tom painted exactly what he saw!

Finally, Tom awoke on Monday, May 24th, 1915 to a brilliant sunrise streaming in his window of Mowat Lodge. Terrain matching again confirms his easterly viewing angle. 

Sunrise, Monday May 24th, 1915

The weather system that arrived at sunset on Sunday had passed east of Mowat. Tom was observing the sunrise light scattered from the underside of the cirrus and altocumulus cloud found in the "hang back - comma head" of the storm. The details of the analysis are recorded in Tom Thomson's Sunset, Summer 1915. Harris and MacDonald miss-named Painting 4 as "Sunset, Summer 1915" reusing the same name as applied to Painting 3. Understandably, the unusual sunrise colours tricked them again. They were also running out of unique names to employ. 

Tom must have been aware that something very unusual was happening in the atmosphere. This lends some rationale for Tom to diligently observe the increasingly spectacular colours in a series of paintings. Paintings number 1 and 3 in the above series are the only actual sunsets looking westward. 

Painting 1 Saturday sunset left -Painting 2 Sunday sunset about 30 hours after the eruption right

Painting 1 was completed just a couple of hours after the eruption well before the arrival of the volcanic aerosols. Painting 3 was completed with the arrival of the first high concentration of volcanic aerosols. The initial concentrations of aerosols can be very high behind the deformation zone of the airflow that delivers those particulates. Tom must have been amazed at the vivid sunset colours!

Paintings 2 and 4 repeated below are truly sunrises looking eastward from Mowat. The colours increased in chroma between Sunday morning on the left and Monday morning on the right. 

The progression of cloud types and structures is consistent with two separate weather systems that crossed Canoe Lake over the May Victoria Day weekend. Rain likely fell both Saturday and Sunday nights. 

In any event, Sunday supper on the Queen Victoria Holiday weekend would have been memorable - not only because of the "fireworks" in the sky. Annie Fraser, Shannon's wife was well known for her fine meals and baking at Mowat Lodge. (Note: May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday, was declared a holiday by the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845. After Confederation, Queen Victoria's birthday was celebrated every year on May 24 unless that date was a Sunday, in which case a proclamation was issued providing for the celebration on May 25.) The Great War was still raging in Europe and patriotic feelings would have been high. 

           Tom Thomson circa 1905-1910                 

To really appreciate Tom Thomson, it is important to place his art within the context of the times in addition to the science and the weather. 

What motivated Tom to record these weather observations? Tom must have been shocked to see the colours of the sunrise reaching into his bedroom window. I can imagine Tom grabbing his paint box and rushing out to the shore of Canoe Lake to chase the sunrise light before it disappeared. Tom was also a morning person... let's get going with the sun. Rise and shine.

Tom would have been eagerly waiting for the display of colours that the sunsets would deliver. That is why artists paint... we all chase the light in amazement at the beauty of nature ... and the weather. 

Tom might not have understood all of the science and would certainly not have known that Lassen's Peak had just exploded - but he was truthful to what he saw. In that way, the science he recorded must also be accurate. 

Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick

PS: Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman - Summary As of Now contains all of the entries to date. 

PSS: If one searches Tom Thomson's Catalogue Raisonné  for "sunrise" only one painting shows up. If one searches for "sunset" 25 works are produced. Some of those sunsets are actually sunrises as we have demonstrated. Of course, it would have been helpful if Tom had left a few hints.