Rare Glimpse into Clark McDougall's Work

Ann's Snack Bar, 1964, St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre

Selections from the Sloan Estate Collection
August 1 to September 12, 2015

Gallery Three

The St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre is pleased to present the exhibition “On Loan”, selections from the Sloan Estate collection. This exhibition alleviates the mission of the Art Centre by increasing the awareness and appreciation of the visual arts by utilizing the artwork from privately-owned collections. With the generosity of the Sloan family, this fascinating exhibition provides a special first time look at some of Clark McDougall's rarer works.

Clark McDougall was born in St. Thomas in 1921. At the age of 16 Clark left high school determined to become an artist. He would ride his bike north of St. Thomas into North Yarmouth and paint watercolours directly from nature. He taught himself proper technique from library books and sought advice from local artist William St. Thomas Smith. In 1950, at the age of 29, Clark traveled to Montreal and Quebec City where he first experienced the paintings of Henri Matisse. He now realized that colour and line could be used in a completely different way. By 1952-3 Clark was working as a “Fauve” painter, where his colours were intensely vivid and non-naturalistic.

A coronary in 1957 forced Clark to paint from photographs in his studio. His painting style changed where the outline became very important to the structure and design of the painting. Clark’s unique “black enamel” style set him apart from other regional artists. His first exhibition of these "black enamel" paintings was in 1968 at the 20/20 Gallery, London. In 1976 the Volunteer Committee at the London Regional Art Gallery commissioned a painting, “Site”, to commemorate the building of the new gallery. In 1977 the Vancouver Art Gallery organized an exhibition “Clark McDougall: Paintings since 1953”.

Regardless of the style, however, Clark had a highly individual way of interpreting his beloved landscape of North Yarmouth. Clark McDougall passed away of a brain tumor in 1980 at the age of 59.

A very special thank you to the Sloan family for providing this opportunity.

Art Centre hours: Tuesday-Wednesday: 10-4  Thursday- Friday: 10-9 Saturday: 12-4  Sunday: 12-3 Monday: Closed