MacDonald, James Edward Hervey (1873-1932), English-Canadian painter and poet. Inspired by the pioneering Canadian landscapist Tom Thomson, MacDonald began painting scenes of the Canadian wilds shortly before World War I. His objective was to reproduce the essential mood and feeling of a landscape, which he achieved by using bright impressionist color and stylized forms. As a prominent member of the Group of Seven in the 1920s, MacDonald continued to develop and refine his style, producing powerful scenes of forests, primeval hills, and lakes.