Few artists in Canada are as revered as the Newfoundland-based painter and printmaker Christopher Pratt (1935–2022). Throughout his life, he lived in St. Mary’s Bay along the Salmonier River, where he documented the province’s culture, geography, weather, landscapes, architecture, waterscapes, and figures. In Christopher Pratt: Life & Work, author Mireille Eagan examines the artist’s lifelong commitment to observing his home province. She lays the foundation for understanding Pratt’s significant contributions to Canadian art history, including his unique approach to representing place by transforming everyday scenes and objects into intimate meditations on the nature of life in Atlantic Canada.
Pratt remained steadfast in his dedication to the isolation Newfoundland provided. He equated a simple life with his rhythmically austere aesthetic values, which became dominant features of his art. This pride of place did not stop the artist from earning national accolades. Pratt’s work is in the collections of prominent galleries across the country, including The Rooms, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the National Gallery of Canada. His artistic achievements were recognized with several awards, and in 1973, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
“Pratt’s life was dedicated to looking, and with each person who looked alongside him, he saw familiar places anew. In turn, he revealed the island of Newfoundland to others through his art. Pratt’s works have become a symbol of an entire province’s identity and established a standard of artistic excellence.”Mireille Eagan
Born before Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949, Pratt experienced significant political and cultural changes to his home province. Eagan details how the artist bore witness to progress while plumbing the depths of memory in his meticulously crafted, introspective compositions. Pratt’s style, which combines elements of realism with a minimalist aesthetic, was seen as uniquely his own, and cemented his reputation as one of Canada’s leading contemporary artists.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mireille Eagan is curator of contemporary art at The Rooms in St. Johns, Newfoundland. She has curated more than 150 exhibitions, individually or as co-curator, including Christopher Pratt: The Places I Go (2015) and the nationally touring retrospective Mary Pratt (2013–15), as well as the Terra Nova Art Foundation’s Collateral Project (2013) at the 55th Venice Biennale. Eagan was the project lead, editor, and author of Future Possible: An Art History of Newfoundland and Labrador (2021), which won the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association’s Best Atlantic-Published Book Award and an Honourable Mention for Outstanding Research from the Canadian Museums Association and the Melva J. Dwyer Award.
Banner image: Christopher Pratt, Breakwater (detail), 1976, serigraph on paper, 50.2 cm x 70.5 cm. Collection of the Beaverbook Art Gallery, Fredericton, Gift of Jim Coutts in memory of Peter McCain (1997.33). Courtesy of the Beaverbook Art Gallery. © Estate of Christopher Pratt, 1976.
Artist photo: Christopher Pratt in front of his painting Argentia Interior: The Ruins of Fort McAndrew, 2015. Photograph by Ned Pratt. © Ned Pratt.