First comprehensive monograph on the artistic practice of the bestselling author of "Generation X," in partnership with a major solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Beginning in 1912, Defiant Spirits traces the artistic development of Tom Thomson and the future members of the Group of Seven, Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley, over a dozen years in Canadian history. Working in an eclectic and sometimes controversial blend of modernist styles, they produced what an English critic celebrated in the 1920s as the 'most vital group...

Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974) is a name that instantly conjures up images of our rugged northern landscape and the controversial Group of Seven. This is the first-ever full-length biography of one of Canada's most beloved characters, and the first to examine in one book the artist, outdoorsman, soldier, teacher, debater, writer, and outspoken defender of modern art. Jackson spent nearly seventy years travelling Canada on a lifelong quest to,...