Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974)

Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974). . , Born in Montreal in 1882 A.Y. Jackson took to painting at a young age. During his formative years, his passion took him to the streets of Chicago and the battlefields of Europe during World War I. His true attraction however was to the remote wilderness regions of Canada. , A.Y. Jackson was a founding member of the famous Group of Seven who left an incredible legacy on the Canadian art scene. Jackson joined J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris and Frank Johnston during a boxcar trip on the Algoma Central Railway in 1919. Their paintings immortalized the beauty and rugged nature of northern Algoma and eastern Lake Superior. , A.Y. was so taken with the region that he secured the use of a small sleep cabin on the shores of Michipicoten Bay near Sandy Beach. During the 1950's he made regular visits to his remote cabin and painted a number of small works throughout the Wawa area including Michipicoten Harbour, Wawa Lake, Michipicoten River, Sandy Beach and Michipicoten River Village. Many of these lesser known paintings are only now beginning to reappear in private collections and art auctions. , Jackson moved to the Ottawa region in 1955. In 1965 he experienced a devastating stroke that put an end to his painting career. His later years were spent as an artist-in-residence at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg, Ontario where he is buried. A.Y. Jackson died in 1974 at the age of 91.