When Christopher Pratt first entered Mount Allison University in 1953 it was in pre-medicine. But after being encouraged to paint by Lawren Harris and Alex Colville, Pratt turned his attention to fine arts. Summer work as a construction surveyor at the American Naval Base at Argentia explains the precise measuring found in his paintings. In 1961, Pratt accepted the position of curator at the newly opened Memorial University Art Gallery in St. John's. He remained at the gallery for two and a half years before deciding to concentrate on his painting full-time. The result has been a prolific number of iconic clapboard houses and boats on the seashore as well as more unsettling images like building demolitions and bleak landscapes. Though some of his images supply a feeling of calm, others seem to convey the sharp, northeast winds of Newfoundland.
