“Grace's investigation into the "invention" of Tom Thomson is a compelling tour not only into the making of a cultural phenomenon, but into the myth of Canada itself. From the various biographical treatments of Thomson, which have become increasingly obsessed with the man's death, to the poetic and fictional reinventions, to the numerous depictions of Thomson in the visual arts, Grace's account of the "inventions" is exhaustive. No-one, she argues, is able to approach Thomson objectively; every reinvention of Thomson is in part a projection of the inventor; every biography an autobiography. Thomson satisfies our need "for closure, for answers, for meaning, for validation.” Books in Canada

“The title says it all - the process of inventing Tom Thomson continues. In this remarkable essay, not the man, nor the artist, but the icon co-opted into our national narrative is given wings as we watch him soar into the sun.” John Moss, professor of English, University of Ottawa, is the author of Invisible Among the Ruins, The Paradox of Meaning, and other books

“This is a compelling book on myth-making and identity. Reversing the usual direction of investigative research, Inventing Tom Tomson analyzes the disorderly repertoire of stories about the artist’s life rather than the canonized repertoire of his paintings. To paraphrase one of the author’s central arguments, had the book not been written, it would have to have been invented." John O’Brian, professor of art history, University of British Columbia

Sherrill Grace is University Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia.