Thomas Albert “Tom” Stone, OSA (1894–1978)
Title: Mackenzie River, Thunder Bay
Medium: Oil on panel
Size: 12” x 16” (16 1/2” x 20 3/8” framed)
Price: $1,950.00 CAD
About Mackenzie River, Thunder Bay
This rare early circa 1933 en plein air oil painting by Tom Stone captures the raw energy of a Northern Ontario whitewater rapid, rendered with thick, tactile impasto on panel. The scene, highlighting the distant silhouette of the Sibley Peninsula (The Sleeping Giant), uses a palette of pale turquoise, soft greys, and deep earthy tones. The work is signed, features a rare, handwritten inscription on the reverse with the artist’s 2 Yorkville Avenue studio address, and is housed in an gold frame.
Artist Biography
Thomas Albert “Tom” Stone (1897–1978) was born in Fownhope, Herefordshire, England, and immigrated to Canada in 1914. After initially settling in Edmonton, he later moved to Ontario and pursued formal art studies at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. There he studied under notable Canadian artists including G.A. Reid, Arthur Lismer, J.W. Beatty, Emanuel Hahn, J.E.H. MacDonald, and F.H. Varley. In 1925, he received the Governor General’s Award as the college’s outstanding student. He subsequently continued his studies in Paris at several academies, including André Lhote’s Académie and the Académie Moderne.
Stone was elected a member of the Ontario Society of Artists in the early 1930s and later served as a director of the organization. He also exhibited regularly with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, showing fifteen works between 1923 and 1943. In 1929, following his return from Europe, he was honoured with a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario).
Best known for his landscapes and winter scenes, Stone painted extensively throughout Ontario, including Algonquin Park, Haliburton, Parry Sound, and the Lake Superior region. He maintained a studio at 2 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto and remained an active painter until his death in 1978. His works are represented in public, private, and corporate collections and continue to be appreciated for their vivid colour and distinctive interpretation of the Canadian landscape.
