In 2015, the Vancouver Art Gallery made an announcement that seemed too good to be true. It had acquired 10 sketches from Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald, which had been buried underground for more than four decades.
But as questions about the origin of the sketches mounted, the VAG refused to release details about the authenticity.
Now, nearly nine years after The Globe and Mail first reported on the controversy, the VAG has revealed the sketches are indeed fake. Here, a look at how MacDonald’s career developed, and where the story of the sketches fits within it.
J.E.H. Macdonald at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club in February, 1913.Supplied
May 12, 1873: James Edward Hervey MacDonald is born near Durham, England.
1887: At the age of 14, MacDonald immigrates with his family to Hamilton, Ont.
1889: MacDonald moves to Toronto with his family.
1901: MacDonald’s wife gives birth to their son, Thoreau. He would later become an artist and a strong supporter of his father’s work.
1908-1913: MacDonald begins painting in oil regularly and goes on several sketching excursions in Northern Ontario and in the Laurentians in Quebec.
1913: MacDonald and his wife and child move to Thornhill, Ont., and purchase a farmhouse called Four Elms. The property was the inspiration for many sketches and paintings, including The Tangled Garden.
1919: Between 1919 and 1922, MacDonald produced a number of large oil paintings on canvas based on sketches he made in Algoma, Ont.
1920: MacDonald co-founds the Group of Seven with artists Frederick Varley, A.Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer and Franklin Carmichael.
1924: Until his death in 1932, MacDonald makes several annual painting trips to the Rockies in British Columbia.
1931: Doctors suggest MacDonald go to Barbados for health reasons. In its initial announcement, the Vancouver Art Gallery said this was when MacDonald and Thoreau wrapped unsold sketches in cellophane, placed them in boxes and buried them on the family’s Thornhill property for safekeeping.
1932: MacDonald dies at the age of 59.
1974: In announcing the donation, the VAG claimed that four decades after the sketches were buried, Thoreau and a family friend Max Merkur dig up four boxes containing sketches. A.J. Casson, a family friend, advises Merkur to buy the sketches as an investment.
1989: Thoreau dies at the age of 88.
2007: Max Merkur dies.
2012: Max Merkur’s widow, Reta Merkur, dies. It is after her death that their sons Ephraim (Ephry) and Melvin find a large collection of artworks stored in the basement of the family home, including the 10 sketches purported to be by MacDonald.
2014: The Vancouver Art Gallery’s senior curator-historical Ian Thom, one of Canada’s top experts on the Group of Seven, is invited to view the Merkur collection in Toronto and choose items for a donation to the VAG. He chooses the 10 sketches and determines they are genuine. He asks another expert, Dennis Reid, then a professor at the University of Toronto, to examine the works. Reid agrees they are authentic. The acquisition is approved by the VAG Board on Dec. 10.
January, 2015: To great fanfare, the Vancouver Art Gallery announces it acquired oil sketches by MacDonald, donated by the Merkur family.
March, 2015: The Globe and Mail publishes an investigation interviewing experts who cast doubt on the authenticity of the sketches.
October, 2015: The VAG receives its report from Charles Hill, a retired long-time curator of Canadian art at the National Gallery of Canada. After examining the works, he notes a number of red flags, including the condition of the sketches, considering how and where they were allegedly buried, and the quality of the painting.
January, 2016: The VAG receives a forensic handwriting analysis of the signatures on the back of each work. It finds only one inscription had a “strong possibility” to match the person named.
Spring/summer 2016: The Canadian Conservation Institute conducts a scientific analysis of the sketches. In reports sent to the VAG in August and September, the CCI confirms the sketches could not have been made by MacDonald.
December, 2017: In yet another of several attempts to find out the truth about the sketches, The Globe contacts the VAG again about the authenticity of the sketches. Once again, the VAG refuses to disclose the results of the CCI report. In an e-mail, Thom writes “Research is still ongoing and we have no new information to share at this time.”
2018: Ian Thom retires.
2019: In a surprise move, VAG director Kathleen Bartels leaves the gallery; her contract was not renewed.
2020: Anthony Kiendl is named the VAG’s new CEO and director.
2021: Richard Hill (no relation to Charles Hill) is appointed senior curator of Canadian art.
2023: The VAG concedes that the sketches are fake.