Tom Thomson (1877-1917) is by most rights considered Canada’s most famous painter. While his paintings The West Wind and The Jack Pine are cultural icons, what makes Thomson so interesting to Canadians is his mysterious death by drowning. Thomson was an esteemed canoeist, fisherman and swimmer, which makes his drowning sort of ironic, and it has brought up questions of murder and suicide. Despite the constant reemergence of the Tom Thomas mystery, the cause of his drowning has never been answered, and the whole ambiguity of it has sort of become a part of his legacy.