Love the Place You Live - McMichael Gallery in Toronto

I live on the outskirts of Toronto and love playing tourist in my own city - there are so many interesting things to do and places to visit. I've actually already written about a few of the fun things there are to do in these posts:

• Kensington Market
• chinatown
• Distillery District

 Just in case you are planning a visit to our fair city I thought I would show you another of the places I really enjoy here in Toronto.  

Today I went with some friends to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinberg Ontario, just north of Toronto.  

It is a unique art gallery because it specializes in art by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven, and their contemporaries.  The Group of Seven were a group of landscape painters (1920 to 1933) who formed Canada's first major art movement. I think one of the reasons the Group of Seven is truly beloved here in Canada is that they capture the wild look of Canada so well.  The pictures below are some examples of the art on display.

Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson

Arthur Lismer

J.E.H. MacDonald

A.Y. Jackson

Franklin Carmichael

Tom Thomson

Lawren Harris

The McMichael art gallery's building is a magnificent structure made of timber and stone and located in a hundred acres of conservation land.  Nothing could look more Canadian than this building set on the side of a wooded ravine.

The foyer is an enormous gathering space constructed of huge timbers with a beautiful wood paneled ceiling supported by large stone and timbered walls.

There are windows throughout the gallery looking out into the woods or across the ravine.

Unfortunately there are no photos allowed in the gallery itself, which always makes me sad.  I have a terrible memory and although I bought postcards and cards of all the pictures I could, there were many others I wanted to remember, but no cards were available.

Do you love going to the gift shop as much as I do?  I always have to have a look after visiting a museum or art gallery.

There is a sculpture garden amongst the trees near the McMichael - this carved piece of granite is my favourite.

And perched on the edge of the ravine is Tom Thomson's shack (you can see some of Tom Thomson's art above).  The shack was reconstructed from the one he used in Toronto during the coldest part of the winter - he really preferred to be up north living in the bush and out in his canoe which was where he spent most of the year.

Inside the shack is a studio at one end and a living/kitchen room with a loft bed at the other.  It looked pretty cozy to me.

I loved the McMichael art gallery's motto that they have on their entrance sign.   

This is one place I love to explore - it definitely is intriguing, inviting, and inspiring.

(the pictures of the paintings are courtesy of the McMichael's website)

Linked to Love the Place You Live at Design Mom