Hon. Patricia Bovey: Honourable senators, Newfoundland and Canada sadly lost a major arts voice this past weekend. Artist Christopher Pratt died Sunday at the age of 86.

Internationally known, Pratt’s paintings and prints are cherished in public and private collections across Canada. About, of and from his beloved province, where he was born before Newfoundland joined Confederation, they are painted with his unique precision. Declaring, “I love what I do,” his subjects — Newfoundland’s buildings, interiors, people, highway, his sailboat and waters — earned him the mantra as a leading magic realist.

Tom Smart, Beaverbrook Art Gallery’s director and the artist’s biographer, said Sunday:

There is magic in his paintings. . . . You look at his paintings and it’s almost as if they’re looking back at you.

Seen by some as cold, haunting or having an unsettling gaze, Pratt’s controlled, sparse, precise works reveal details, realities and depths achieved by few. A student of Alex Colville, he studied at Mount Allison University and the Glasgow School of Art. My time in his immaculate studio was memorable, as were the ketchup and mustard containers filled with his printer inks.

Christopher, who designed the Newfoundland flag, was a storyteller in art and conversation. I went sailing with him in 1990. It was magical. Christopher’s unexpected invitation awaited me on landing in St. John’s. I ran to the store before it closed, bought appropriate shoes, accepted the invitation for the next morning and then phoned my husband in Victoria. “I thought you were working,” he said. I was. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see if the many works I had catalogued over the years were true to the detail of the boat itself. They were. Anyway, my meetings were only to begin the next evening.

Christopher’s wife, Mary Pratt, who predeceased him, was also a pre-eminent artist. Even after their divorce, they spoke almost every day, sometimes from our home on the island at the far end of the country. The two were fast friends. I extend my condolences to the Pratt family and friends.

Colleagues, artists are leaders, portraying who we are, where and how we live, illuminating issues we face. Christopher Pratt did that with steadfastness, insight, care and compassion. He inspired many through his curating, teaching and the directness and integrity of his thought and art.

In paying tribute to Christopher Pratt’s exemplary career, I also want to congratulate Inuit Art Quarterly, the publication which presents leading Inuit artists and writers, some from Labrador. Last Friday, they received two much coveted National Magazine Awards, one for best arts and literature magazine and the Magazine Grand Prix, the first arts magazine ever to receive it.

As we say goodbye to Christopher Pratt, a veritable Canadian icon, may we also support and honour other artists — emerging and established — for their work and insights. Thank you.