Eggs and Highways

Both Mary Pratt (1935-) and Jack Chambers (1931-78) used photography as a means of capturing an image for the purpose of painting it. Unlike Impressionists who wished to paint light and surfaces as quickly as possible, exposing their brushstrokes in the process, Pratt and Chambers wanted an exacting realism void of any real evidence of their own hand. They wanted to capture the light and its relationship with various objects at a specific moment in time. In order to accomplish this, they used photography. This technology allowed them to capture the shadows and highlights of their intended subject so that they could translate it to the canvas later on at their own pace.

Mary Pratt, Eggs in Egg Crate, 1975
50.5 cm x 60.5 cm

Jack Chambers, 401 Towards London No. 1, 1968
183.0 cm x 244.0 cm

Pratt was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick where she studied with Alex Coleville and Lawren Harris at Mount Allison University. She later moved to Newfoundland with her artist husband Christopher Pratt, and began to paint the objects that immediately surrounded her in home.

While Jack Chambers began his studies in art in London, Ontario, he left to continue his education in Spain in 1953. He returned in 1961 and produced a number of works alongside fellow London native Greg Curnoe. In 1969 Chambers was diagnosed with leukemia. Until his death he began to paint ever more realistic images, such as the one pictured here.