Tom Thomson is one of Canada’s most popular and admired artists, known for the way he lived his life and for the quality of work he produced before his untimely death in 1917. He has become an almost mythic historic figure, seen as a virtually untrained artist who painted the Canadian north untainted by preconceived influences. In fact, Thomson was closely associated with several future members of the Group of Seven, all trained in the European tradition, and shared a studio with A.Y. Jackson which would have given him ample exposure to artistic conventions. His method of working directly from nature was no different than that established by the French Impressionists decades earlier. Moving beyond the conventional way of thinking about Thomson, allows an appreciation of his talent within its rightful context. His sketches, such as First Snow are wonderfully expressive, displaying a unique sense of colour and a vibrancy of brushstroke.