CBCnews

Painting by numbers

By Andrew Davidson, CBC News

muskokaG8logo.jpg

Citing inspiration from Canada's Group of Seven painters, federal Industry Minister Tony Clement unveiled the logo Monday for the G8 Summit being held next year in his Muskoka-Parry Sound riding.

It comes amid increased calls for the annual gathering of the Group of eight industrialized nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the United States — to be expanded to include the 19 largest economies that, along with the European Union, add up to the G20.

It's worth noting the members of the Group of Seven — known for painting the Canadian landscape with bold colours and a broad, decorative style — didn't let a name get in the way of expansion.

The famed group's membership later swelled to 10, not counting the influential Tom Thomson, who died in 1917 before the group's official inception.