A. Y. Jackson

Once ridiculed by critics, Canadian painter A.Y. Jackson is now

considered the pioneer of modern landscape art. He is also the founder

of the famous Canadian Group of Seven.

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The first time A.Y. Jackson and his artist friends had a show of their paintings, critics
called them “the product of a deranged mind.” It’s a good thing that Jackson believed in
himself and his abilities; otherwise, he might not have gone on to be one of the most
successful and respected artists in Canadian history.
Alexander Young Jackson (everyone called him A. Y.) was born to a poor family in
Montreal in 1882. His father abandoned them when he was young, and A.Y. had to go to
work at age twelve to help support his brothers and sisters.
Working in a print shop, he became interested in art, and eventually he saved up enough
money to travel and study in Europe.
After returning to Canada, he began to paint landscapes in a fresh new style. Other young
artists took notice, and A.Y. Jackson soon had a group of friends who not only loved to
paint, but also aspired to change the traditional way in which landscapes were painted.
Jackson had faith in himself and his fellow artists; he felt they could turn the art world on
its head. He and several other artists decided to try an unusual experiment. Traveling by
train, and living together in a boxcar as it rolled across northern Ontario, they painted
everything they saw.
The “Group of Seven,” as they called themselves, put the results of the tour together to