Priceless. Beautiful. Those were the words Don Beyers chose to describe the artwork by members of the Group of Seven that were lost in the on Sunday.
Fire crews and police responded to the fire that broke out just before 8 a.m. at the church located on near Dufferin Street and College Street.
Beyers said he was crushed to see the church that he has been a parish priest at for three years ablaze when he arrived on scene early in the morning. The fire completely burned through the building’s roof, ravaging the place that served as a place of worship for Beyers and his community — and the art inside the dome was destroyed. “Something we cannot replace in Canada and in the world,” city councillor for the Davenport ward Alejandra Bravo said of the murals to reporters.
Sixteen to 18 paintings from J.E.H.
MacDonald, Frank Carmichael and Frederick H. Varley, three members of the Group of Seven, that depicted Jesus’ life were high above the pews and painted on the ceiling, . Here are some of the works: Group Of Seven members MacDonald, Carmichael and Varley contributed scenes high above the pews.
The murals on the dome of St. Anne’s were rare depictions of religious scenes painted by members of the Group of Seven. The Group of Seven predominantly focused their art on nature.
This scene is by Varley and is called “The Nativity.” This work by Varley, named The Nativity, was regarded as one of the finest paintings in the church. The Group of Seven rarely depicted religiou.
