Was it Murder? The Fate of Artist Tom Thomson

The Death of Thomson in Algonquin Park Remains Unsolved

May 1, 2009

On July 8, 1917, Canadian artist Tom Thomson paddled away for an afternoon of fishing on Canoe Lake. A few hours later, his empty canoe showed up near the dock.

Eight days after his canoe was found, Thomson’s body was discovered floating on the lake, a piece of fishing line wrapped around one ankle. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened on that summer afternoon in northern Ontario. How could this experienced wilderness guide who knew this northern Ontario lake very well fall overboard and drown?

The mystery has intrigued Canadians for nearly a century, and helped launch Thomson from up-and-coming artist to cultural icon.

Thomson and the Group of Seven

Thomson was part of a group of Canadian artists who created a new, vibrant style of painting. They set out to depict the wild beauty of the Canadian north in a unique way.

Three years after his death, some of Thomson’s colleagues formed the Group of Seven, with Thomson as an honorary member. Reaction to their first Group show was immediate. Harsh landscapes lit by an unusual light captured Canada as it had never been painted before. Once critics got over their shock, the Group was hailed for creating a distinctive Canadian style.

Tomson's Death: Accident, Suicide or Murder?

Thomson’s death was ruled an accident by a coroner who never even saw the body. It was believed his canoe had struck a deadhead (submerged log) and tossed him overboard. Some thought his death was suicide, but he loved his work, was becoming successful and reportedly had just become engaged.

Questions arose. How did he get the 10-centimeter bruise on his temple? Why was there blood in one ear, and why was air coming from his lungs if he had drowned? If he was murdered, who did it?

To this day, theories abound. People have suggested that German spies, poachers or a rival for his girlfriend could have killed him. Perhaps his favourite paddle, which was never found, was a murder weapon.

At different times in 1977, both Ronald Pittaway and journalist Roy MacGregor interviewed Daphne Crombie, who knew Thomson and the others living at Canoe Lake. She told them that her friend, Annie Fraser, told her that her husband Shannon, who owed Thomson money, got in a fight with Thomson during a drinking party and hit him. Thomson fell, hit his head on the fire grate and was knocked unconscious. Shannon Fraser panicked and put Thomson in his canoe, then towed it onto the lake and overturned it.

This contradicts an eyewitness who said he saw Thomson paddle away just after noon on July 17, but the man was a quarter-mile away at the time. Was it Thomson he saw, or Fraser?

Head Injury Possible Cause of Thomson's Death

Several years ago, researcher Peter Webb visited Canoe Lake to search for answers. He found the lake riddled with deadheads and hidden rocks. He concluded Thomson’s death was accidental.

“Thomson had set out to fish on the day he died,” Webb said. “Suppose his line snagged on the log-riddled bottom of the lake and he stood up in his canoe to free it. I have seen many fishermen do a similarly foolish thing. In such an instance, the canoe might have tipped him onto a rock or deadhead, or onto its own gunwale.”

Alternatively, he said, “The force of hitting a deadhead ... could easily have overturned his canoe, and a rock or a second deadhead could have knocked him unconscious, whereupon he'd have drowned.”

Perhaps the initial investigators were right, and Thomson’s death was accidental. He could have died of a severe head injury acquired when he fell from his canoe. But doubt remains.

The truth may never be known, but Tom Thomson remains one of the most fascinating and talented artists Canada has ever produced.

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The copyright of the article Was it Murder? The Fate of Artist Tom Thomson in 20th Century Art is owned by Terry McNamee. Permission to republish Was it Murder? The Fate of Artist Tom Thomson in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.