TORONTO.- As the leader of the Group of Seven, Lawren Harris first rose to national prominence while living and painting in Toronto. This summer the Art Gallery of Ontario welcomes his paintings home—following a critically acclaimed trip across the United States—with an exhibition that explores the relationship of Harris’ work to Toronto, in addition to a specially commissioned performance in partnership with The National Ballet of Canada and a public talk by Steve Martin at Roy Thomson Hall.

Curated by comedian, musician, actor and writer Steve Martin along with Andrew Hunter, the AGO’s Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art, and Cynthia Burlingham, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris opened at the AGO on Canada Day, July 1, 2016. Since its debut at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles last fall, The Idea of North has been lauded by critics and audiences alike for bringing new attention to the stunning landscapes of a Canadian icon.

The core of the exhibition, co-curated by Martin, Burlingham and Hunter, features more than 30 of Harris’ most significant and rare northern landscapes from the 1920s and 1930s, drawn from major public and private collections across Canada including the AGO, the Thomson Collection of Canadian Art at the AGO, the National Gallery of Canada and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

The AGO’s installation offers an expanded experience, curated by Hunter. It opens with a selection of Harris’ early paintings from the 1910s, many of which depict the complex and culturally diverse Ward neighbourhood in Toronto, where the artist spent his formative years. Visitors will then experience the core of the exhibition, followed by a special epilogue that explores the influence of Harris’ landscapes on Canadian identity (“the idea of north”) in relation to the city. The impact of Harris’ art and legacy can be seen through historical photogaphs by Arthur Goss in addition to the works of several contemporary Canadian artists including Nina Bunjevac, Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, Tin Can Forest and Anique Jordan. Combined with the core exhibition, this enhanced presentation of The Idea of North features over 80 works in total.