How did a commercial illustrator, whose favourite pastime was fishing and reading poetry, find within himself the passion and confidence to portray Ontario's lakes, rivers, trees and skies with glorious colour and energy as no one had before? What is it about Thomson's life, art and death that haunt us still; that draw thousands of people each year to his cairn in Canoe Lake, and propel his little oil sketches to the stratosphere of the Canadian art market?
—Anonymous