John Christopher Pratt
John Christopher Pratt, painter, printmaker (b at St John's 9 Dec 1935). He was encouraged by his wife Mary PRATT to study at the Glasgow School of Art (1957-59) and at Mount Allison (1959-61), where he worked with Alex COLVILLE. He then taught at Memorial before deciding to paint full time in 1963. He is well known for his meticulous and pristine studies with typically Atlantic settings, purged of all extraneous detail. He focuses on images drawn from recollection. Through Pratt's eyes, Newfoundland resembles another country; it is a stark land of sharp contrasts. His architectural studies are equally clean and ordered and lacking in sentimentality. All his work projects a mood of aloneness and stark, austere beauty, the simple facts of life.
Exit
Christopher Pratt, 1978-79, oil on board, 51 7/8" x 52" (courtesy Mira Goddard Gallery).
Good Friday
Colour serigraph on illustration board, 1973, by Christopher Pratt (courtesy National Gallery of Canada/Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada, Ottawa).
Bay
Christopher Pratt, 1972, oil on board, 32" x 71" (courtesy Mira Goddard Gallery).
Pratt's figure subjects suggest the same hauntingly remote but sturdy reality. Sometimes their shy sensualism can be disturbing in the midst of Pratt's focus on a quiet existence. Along with Colville he is one of the greatest classicists of contemporary Canadian PAINTING. A major retrospective of the artist's work toured Canada in 1986.
Exit
Christopher Pratt, 1978-79, oil on board, 51 7/8" x 52" (courtesy Mira Goddard Gallery).
Good Friday
Colour serigraph on illustration board, 1973, by Christopher Pratt (courtesy National Gallery of Canada/Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada, Ottawa).
Bay
Christopher Pratt, 1972, oil on board, 32" x 71" (courtesy Mira Goddard Gallery).
Author JOAN MURRAY
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
Maisonneuve and the Founding of Montreal
The story of the founding of Montreal is perhaps unique in history....
INSIDE TCE
Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which
you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select
the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of
later generations.
