 alexander young jackson,  (october 3, 1882 â april 5, 1974) was a canadian painter and a founding member of the group of seven. jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in canada, and was successful in bringing together the artists of montreal and toronto. he exhibited with the group of seven from 1920. in addition to his work with the group of seven, his long career included serving as a war artist during world war i (1917â19) and teaching at the banff school of fine arts, from 1943 to 1949. in his later years he was artist-in-residence at the mcmichael gallery in kleinberg, ontario. == early life and training == as a young boy, jackson worked as an office boy for a lithograph company, after his father abandoned his family of six children. it was at this company that jackson began his art training. in the evenings, he took classes at montreal's monument-national in 1905, jackson worked his way to europe on a cattle boat, returning by the same means and travelling on to chicago. in chicago, he joined a commercial art firm and took courses at the art institute of chicago. he saved his earnings and, by 1907, was able to visit france to study impressionism. in france, jackson decided to become a professional painter, studying at paris' acadÃ©mie julian under j.p. laurens. some of his most important artistic development was at the etaples art colony, which he first visited in 1908 with his new zealand friend eric spencer macky (1880â1958). jackson painted his âpaysage embrumÃ©eâ then and, rather to his surprise, it was accepted by the paris salon.{{cite book|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=y1xlxih1hkcc&pg=pa29&lpg=pa29&dq=etaples+%22artists+colony%22&source=bl&ots=kl_qsqcb2g&sig=pqjcybm4ihfaci-yv1qjii95sdu&hl=en&ei=6ab9tq_4hcbo0qwm17n9dw&sa=x&oi=book_result&am
1882_births 1974_deaths 20th-century_Canadian_painters Alumni_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_Julian Anglophone_Quebec_people Canadian_landscape_painters Canadian_war_artists Companions_of_the_Order_of_Canada Companions_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George Members_of_the_Royal_Canadian_Academy_of_Arts People_from_Montreal Persons_of_National_Historic_Significance_(Canada) School_of_the_Art_Institute_of_Chicago_alumni World_War_I_artists