WHISTLER.- The Audain Art Museum is presenting the special exhibition, Tom Thomson: North Star. This captivating selection of over one hundred paintings, which is the largest ever displayed, delves into the extraordinary talent and enduring legacy of Tom Thomson, one of Canada's most iconic artists.

Thomson's catalytic achievement transformed Canadian painting forever. Despite an untimely death, his role as an “artistic voice in the wilderness” prefaced the arrival of the famous Group of Seven. With a unique place in Canadian culture, each generation continues to reckon with his legacy, bringing fresh perspectives on such timeless art. Tom Thomson: North Star features a brilliant array of landscapes from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and the National Gallery of Canada, as well as pieces from public and private collections across Canada, offering audiences a fresh view of this luminary talent.

Michael Audain, Chair of the Audain Foundation, remarked, "Our family foundation is delighted to support the Tom Thomson: North Star exhibition. Thomson was an extraordinarily talented artist who, during his short time of art making, made a profound contribution to Canadian art. To be able to experience a significant part of his remarkable body of work together in one place is a special opportunity for any art enthusiast."

Dr. Curtis Collins, Director & Chief Curator of the Audain Art Museum, stated, "North Star is the most important historical exhibition that the AAM has hosted since opening to the public in 2016. Visitors to the Museum will marvel at Thomson’s ability to evoke the ruggedness of Ontario’s northern lakefronts, which is a perfect compliment to our superlative collection of Emily Carr paintings that capture British Columbia’s towering forests."

Co-curated by Ian Dejardin and Sarah Milroy, of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario, this special exhibition presents Thomson’s oil sketches both chronologically and thematically, to reveal the essence of his vision and moments of artistic experimentation. A full-colour hard cover book with contributions by Ian A.C. Dejardin, Sarah Milroy, Algonquin historian Christine McRae Luckasavitch, cultural historian Douglas Hunter, and contemporary Canadian artists Ben Reeves, Sandra Meigs, and Zachari Logan accompanies Tom Thomson: North Star and is available for purchase in the Museum Shop.