Abstract

An archaeological investigation was commissioned by the City of Vaughan as part of the historic landscape design for the J.E.H. MacDonald property in Thornhill, Ontario. The goal of the investigation was to identify through archaeology the structure in the background of MacDonald's most celebrated painting and thus determine the location of the garden. This award winning project represented the first archaeological investigation related to Canada's Group of Seven and is an example of the contribution archaeology can make to art history.