Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

N.T. (PRAIRIE)

Date Range From

1929

Date Range To

1966

Materials

WATERCOLOUR, PAPER

No. Pieces

1

Height

55.7

Length

62.2

Width

3.2

Description

BEIGE AND NAVY BLUE PAINTED WOOD FRAME. WATERCOLOUR PAINTING IS HAS OFF-WHITE MATT UNDER GLASS AND DEPICTS LANDSCAPE SCENE WITH TREES, BUILDING, SKY AND GRASSLAND. REVERSE IS COVERED WITH BROWN PAPER. UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER HAS HANDWRITTEN WITH BLACK INK, “PROPERTY OF LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB.” NEXT TO INSCRIPTION IS WRITTEN IN PERMANENT MARKER, “20,” ENCLOSED WITH CIRCLE. REVERSE AT BOTTOM HAS STAMPED IN BLACK INK, “GAINSBOROUGH ART STUDIO, 310 7TH ST. SOUTH LETHBRIDGE.” HANGING METHOD IS EYEHOOK SCREWS AND WIRE ACROSS BACK.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

BART PRAGNELL (1907 - 1966) WAS BORN IN CARON, SASKATCHEWAN ON JUNE 22, 1907. HIS INTEREST IN ART STARTED AS A TEENAGER, AND HE WENT TO STUDY IT AT AGE 22 IN WINNIPEG, AT WHICH TIME HE RECEIVED A COUPLE OF CONSIDERABLE SCHOLARSHIPS. DESPITE HAVING GRADUATED, HE NONETHELESS CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER AND ATTENDED MANY OTHER INSTITUTES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, IN 1932 AND 1947, HE RECEIVED DIPLOMAS FOR HIS ARTISTIC ABILITY FROM THE WINNIPEG SCHOOL OF ART AND THE MONTREAL ART ASSOCIATION SCHOOL, RESPECTIVELY, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS CERTIFICATES IN ART IN CHICAGO, BANFF, NEW YORK AND PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS OF BC AND SASKATCHEWAN. PRAGNELL LATER JOINED FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA IN 1963. FROM THE SHORT TEXTS WRITTEN ABOUT HIS LIFE BY THE MENDEL ART GALLERY, THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE ART GALLERY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA ART DEPARTMENT, AND COLIN S. MACDONALD, IT CAN BE DETERMINED THAT PRAGNELL RELOCATED MANY TIMES DURING HIS LIFE IN PURSUIT OF HIGHER KNOWLEDGE. HIS GREATEST CONNECTION TO LETHBRIDGE APPEARS TO BE FROM THE FIFTIES TO SIXTIES WHEN HE WOULD VISIT HIS BROTHER IN TOWN AND TEACH TO BOTH THE CLUB AND AT LOCAL SCHOOLS. IT APPEARS HE LIVED IN LETHBRIDGE FOR A YEAR FROM 1949-50. LATER IN 1959, PRAGNELL ACCEPTED A JOB AS DIRECTOR AND INSTRUCTOR IN THE CITY AND WOULD TEACH MANY OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB’S MEMBERS. IT SEEMS THAT DURING HIS TIME IN LETHBRIDGE, HE WOULD TEACH ALONGSIDE A.Y.JACKSON, BOTH OF WHOM EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF “EN PLEIN AIR” DRAWING, WHICH IS THE TECHNIQUE OF COMPLETING THE PAINTING OUTSIDE. AS HE STARTED WORKING IN EDMONTON IN 1963, THIS ASSOCIATION WITH LETHBRIDGE WAS FOR YEARS LONG. HE PASSED AWAY IN 1966 AFTER SUFFERING A COUPLE OF HEART ATTACKS IN THE PREVIOUS DECADE. AT THE TIME OF DONATION, THE PAINTING WAS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB. OVER THE YEARS, ARTIST, FAMILY MEMBERS AND PATRONS HAVE DONATED PREVIOUSLY ACQUIRED WORKS BACK TO THE CLUB’S COLLECTION. THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB HELD THEIR FIRST MEETING AT THE HOME OF MISS ANNA MACKENZIE ON OCTOBER 7, 1936. EDITH FANNY KIRK WAS THE FIRST ART TEACHER IN LETHBRIDGE. SHE CAME FROM BRITAIN WITH CLASSICAL TRAINING AND IT WAS KIRK WHO SET THE STAGE FOR THE SKETCH CLUB TO COME INTO BEING. THE BANFF SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN THE FORMATION BY PROVIDING RECOGNITION OF ARTISTIC MERIT THROUGH DISTRICT SCHOLARSHIPS. ANNA MACKENZIE AND P.J. COLLINS CONCEIVED OF THE CLUB AFTER THEIR EXPERIENCE IN BANFF. THE GROUP WAS FORMED OUT OF AN ENTHUSIASTIC INTEREST IN ART AND SOON AFTER THE GROUP BEGAN MEETING, THERE WERE REGULAR EXHIBITIONS. THE GROUP WAS PRIVY TO THE ATTENTION OF GROUP OF SEVEN ARTIST A.Y.JACKSON WHEN HE MADE HIS FREQUENT SKETCHING TRIPS TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA. HE REGULARLY ACCOMPANIED THE SKETCH CLUB AND HIS INFLUENCE CAN BE SEEN IN MUCH OF THEIR WORK. ANOTHER GUEST OF THE GROUP WAS ANNORA BROWN WHO WAS AN ARTIST WHO HAD TRAINED IN TORONTO, BUT RESIDED IN FORT MACLEOD AND BEGAN SPENDING TIME WITH THE GROUP IN 1939. HER INTEREST IN FLOWER STUDIES IS SUSPECTED TO HAVE INSPIRED MANY OF THE WORKS BY CLUB MEMBERS. DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, THE GROUP ORGANIZED SUMMER CLASSES TAUGHT BY OUT OF TOWN ARTISTS SUCH AS: H.G.GLYDE, WALTER J. PHILIPS AND A.C. LEIGHTON. ACCORDING TO A HISTORY OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB WRITTEN BY JOAN STEBBINS IN JUNE, 1985, “THE PAINTINGS OF THE LETHBRIDGE SKETCH CLUB PORTRAY FAVOURITE SKETCHING AREAS IN THE REGION – THE COULEES PROVIDED ENDLESS MATERIAL, THE RIVERBOTTOM, THE OLD R.C.M.P. BARRACKS, THE WHITNEY FARM, HENDERSON LAKE, THE FELGER HUTTERITE COLONY, THE FOOTHILLS AND WATERTON LAKE WERE OFTEN REPEATED SUBJECTS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20120030005

Acquisition Date

2012-08

Collection

Museum

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