Christopher Pratt, legendary Canadian painter, dead at 86The art world is mourning the loss of one of Canada's greatest painters, who dedicated his career to redefining Newfoundland and Labrador landscapes and experiences, and also created the province's flag.

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'You look at his paintings and it's almost as if they're looking back at you'

Lindsay Bird · CBC News · Posted: Jun 05, 2022 7:29 AM NT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Christopher Pratt, renowned Canadian painter, dies at 86

9 hours agoDuration 2:24Renowned Canadian painter Christopher Pratt has died at age 86. A proud Newfoundlander, his home province was his favourite muse throughout his prolific six-decade career.comments

Christopher Pratt, who cast a mysterious and magical aura over the Newfoundland and Labrador landscape with artwork that achieved international acclaim, has died. He was 86.

He died early Sunday morning, his family said in a statement. 

"He died as he wished, surrounded by family and friends in his home of 59 years on the Salmonier River," the family's statement said. 

He is survived by four children and other family. Acclaimed painter Mary Pratt, described in the family statement as his "best friend and sometime wife," died in 2018. 

"It's a big loss, to so many. Canada has lost a great artist," said Emma Butler, a friend of Pratt's and founder of Emma Butler Gallery in St. John's.

Pratt was often called one of Canada's greatest painters over the course of his extensive and successful career, which earned him appointment to both the Order of Canada and the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. His work is held in galleries from coast to coast to coast, including the National Gallery of Canada. 

His decades of paintings and prints centre on Newfoundland landscapes and experiences: the gaze out to sea, snow settled on an upturned dory, barren stretches of the Trans-Canada Highway. In his signature meticulous style, Pratt transports viewers with his often eerily lit vistas to territory that exists somewhere between the lifelike and the surreal.

"There's magic in his paintings," said Tom Smart, the director of the Beaverbrook Gallery in Fredericton and author of Christopher Pratt: Six Decades.

"He's called a magic realist for a reason. You look at his paintings and it's almost as if they're looking back at you."