History, Art and Architecture Collection
O-7670
painting (portrait)
The Right Honourable Charles Joseph Clark

O-7670
painting (portrait)
The Right Honourable Charles Joseph Clark

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painting (portrait) Photo gallery for The Right Honourable Charles Joseph Clark photo 1

Specifications

Artists Patrick Douglass Cox (Artist)
Date 2008/03/07
Signature Patrick Douglass Cox 2008
Materials paint, egg tempera
Support masonite
Personal Names Charles Joseph Clark (House of Commons)
Dimensions (cm) 97.8 (Width)141.3 (Height)
Functions Art

Portrait of Prime Minister Joe Clark

Joe Clark was born in High, River, Alberta, in 1939, and remains the youngest Prime Minister, having taken office one day before he turned 40. His 273 days in office were the briefest of any Prime Minister who came to power in a general election. He introduced the Freedom of Information Act, precursor to the Access to Information Act, before his government fell on a non-confidence vote.

Artist Patrick Cox continued the trend away from oil paint as the long-exclusive medium, and used tempura. Cox also continued the move away from static poses, and portrayed a relaxed Clark speaking in the House of Commons.

Patrick Douglass Cox

Alberta artist Patrick Douglass Cox studied at the Alberta College of Art and also in New York. He built his own illustration and design studio in Calgary and then, in the early1980s, chose to paint full time.

His high-realist paintings are influenced by his fondness and respect for the western milieu of his ranching ancestors and the Albertan landscape. Even if his subjects are not obviously rural, such as Prime Minister Joe Clark, Cox searches for a rural stoicism. Cox’s own biography says he searches for an “unpretentious dignity” in the subjects of his portraits.