Armstrong Interior

Clark McDougall (1921 – 1980)

Clark McDougall was an acclaimed self-taught artist from St. Thomas, the seat of Elgin County in Ontario. As a youth, McDougall painted watercolour works of local landscapes and community scenes while teaching himself to paint from library books. On a trip to Montreal in 1950 he discovered the paintings of Henri Matisse, which would have a lasting influence on his own work. In the ensuing decade he became known for his use of stark black enamel outlines and saturated fauvist colours that continued into his later works. His subject matter continued to strongly represent regional landscapes and the world around him.

His work has been celebrated in two notable retrospectives, at the London Regional Art Gallery in 1987 and at the McIntosh Gallery at the University of Western Ontario in 2011. His work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Vancouver Art Gallery and Museum London as well as numerous private corporate collections. An extensive archive of McDougall’s photographs, journals and sketches is represented in the collection of the McIntosh Gallery.