A Digital Exhibit of Fine Art by Canadian Artists
A Digital Exhibit of Fine Art by Canadian Artists
CHRISTOPHER PRATT
Christopher Pratt (b. 1935) is a Canadian painter and printmaker, best known for his American Precisionism paintings, both tranquil and idealized.
Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Christopher Pratt initially studied engineering at Memorial University in 1952 and in 1953 enrolled in pre-med at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. Concurrently, Pratt took art courses and met fellow artist Mary Pratt (née West) who he married in 1957. Lawren Phillips Harris, the director of the School of Fine and Applied Arts at Mount Allison, convinced of Pratt’s talents, wrote to Pratt’s father to allow his son to transfer into the art department. His father instead persuaded Pratt to withdraw from his art classes.
Despite this obstacle, Pratt entered Mount Allison’s Faculty of Arts in 1954 and continued to paint, winning first prize in the Newfoundland Arts and Letters Competition numerous times. In 1955, he returned to St. John’s and painted full-time, focusing on coastal scenes and local architecture through the medium of watercolour. The following year, Pratt traveled to New York, visiting numerous institutions including the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. His experience exposed him to the works of many influential artists including Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Charles Sheeler, Mark Rothko and Winslow Homer.
Pratt attended the Glasgow School of Art in 1957, participating in a foundations course taught by Jessie Alix Dick. Under her guidance, Pratt was exposed to concepts of art that emphasized concept over emotion, the ideal over the real, and the linear over the painterly, providing the foundation for his work.
Pratt returned to Canada in 1959 and earned his BFA degree from Mount Allison University. During this time, he began to experiment with silkscreen, a medium that suited the methodical nature of his work. Instead of using cut or transfer stencils, Pratt made stencils directly on the screen using a sable brush and dilute glue, producing perfect alignment in his prints. The result was a clean, simple, and controlled composition.
After moving to St. John, he managed the Memorial University Art Gallery and taught evening classes at the University. In 1963, he left this position to paint full-time, moving his family to St. Mary’s Bay. One of Pratt’s main themes is the sea – informed by the flat barren landscapes of Newfoundland and his love of sailing, with images ranging from sleek boats to views of the water through windows. Another enduring theme is of young women – the models chosen from his community - depicted both nude and clothed. Depictions of industrial subjects, house exteriors and interiors are also part of his oeuvre.
In all his images, Pratt’s visual language takes objects and simplifies them. By discarding extraneous details, Pratt creates refined, idealized and still compositions. His tranquil works convey a sense of timelessness. Pratt’s style is associated with American Precisionism, a movement interested in abstract design and focused on measurement, factuality and scientific values. Pratt’s treatment of surface, clarification of forms, emphasis on light and space as well as silence, embodies the Precisionist movement. Pratt has also been compared to realist Alex Colville.
Pratt has exhibited internationally in London, Paris, Brussels, and Dublin. A major retrospective of his work toured across Canada from the Vancouver Art Gallery to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Memorial University Art Gallery and the Dalhousie Art Gallery. Solo traveling exhibitions originated at the National Gallery of Canada in 2003 and 2005. Some of his other achievements include serving on the federal government’s Stamp Design Advisory Committee and the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts. He designed the provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador and was the recipient of several honorary doctorates and the Order of Canada.
For more work by the artist, visit godardgallery.com and canadianart.ca
CHRISTOPHER PRATT
Christopher Pratt (b. 1935)is a Canadian painter and printmaker, best known for his American Precisionism paintings, both tranquil and idealized.
Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Christopher Pratt initially studied engineering at Memorial University in 1952 and in 1953 enrolled in pre-med at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. Concurrently, Pratt took art courses and met fellow artist Mary Pratt (née West) who he married in 1957. Lawren Phillips Harris, the director of the School of Fine and Applied Arts at Mount Allison, convinced of Pratt’s talents, wrote to Pratt’s father to allow his son to transfer into the art department. His father instead persuaded Pratt to withdraw from his art classes.
Despite this obstacle, Pratt entered Mount Allison’s Faculty of Arts in 1954 and continued to paint, winning first prize in the Newfoundland Arts and Letters Competition numerous times. In 1955, he returned to St. John’s and painted full-time, focusing on coastal scenes and local architecture through the medium of watercolour. The following year, Pratt traveled to New York, visiting numerous institutions including the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. His experience exposed him to the works of many influential artists including Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Charles Sheeler, Mark Rothko and Winslow Homer.
Pratt attended the Glasgow School of Art in 1957, participating in a foundations course taught by Jessie Alix Dick. Under her guidance, Pratt was exposed to concepts of art that emphasized concept over emotion, the ideal over the real, and the linear over the painterly, providing the foundation for his work.
Pratt returned to Canada in 1959 and earned his BFA degree from Mount Allison University. During this time, he began to experiment with silkscreen, a medium that suited the methodical nature of his work. Instead of using cut or transfer stencils, Pratt made stencils directly on the screen using a sable brush and dilute glue, producing perfect alignment in his prints. The result was a clean, simple, and controlled composition.
After moving to St. John, he managed the Memorial University Art Gallery and taught evening classes at the University. In 1963, he left this position to paint full-time, moving his family to St. Mary’s Bay. One of Pratt’s main themes is the sea – informed by the flat barren landscapes of Newfoundland and his love of sailing, with images ranging from sleek boats to views of the water through windows. Another enduring theme is of young women – the models chosen from his community - depicted both nude and clothed. Depictions of industrial subjects, house exteriors and interiors are also part of his oeuvre.
In all his images, Pratt’s visual language takes objects and simplifies them. By discarding extraneous details, Pratt creates refined, idealized and still compositions. His tranquil works convey a sense of timelessness. Pratt’s style is associated with American Precisionism, a movement interested in abstract design and focused on measurement, factuality and scientific values. Pratt’s treatment of surface, clarification of forms, emphasis on light and space as well as silence, embodies the Precisionist movement. Pratt has also been compared to realist Alex Colville.
Pratt has exhibited internationally in London, Paris, Brussels, and Dublin. A major retrospective of his work toured across Canada from the Vancouver Art Gallery to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Memorial University Art Gallery and the Dalhousie Art Gallery. Solo traveling exhibitions originated at the National Gallery of Canada in 2003 and 2005. Some of his other achievements include serving on the federal government’s Stamp Design Advisory Committee and the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts. He designed the provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador and was the recipient of several honorary doctorates and the Order of Canada.
For more work by the artist, visit godardgallery.com and canadianart.ca
March at Anchor Point
