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Souvenirs of Leningrad: Mother and Child, 1955–56

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a woman with a child in her lap sitting at a table and reading a book by lamplight. Her head is resting in her free hand and she looks depressed. On the table are books and drawing tools and a guitar is hanging on the wall behind her.

Paraskeva Clark, Souvenirs of Leningrad: Mother and Child, 1955–56, oil on canvas, 86 x 90.8 cm, private collection.

Several times throughout her career, Clark revisited the theme of mother and child, and this painting is the final version of the series. It may reflect her fears that her work was no longer relevant, especially as it now lacked the support of her patron J.S. McLean (1876–1954) and former National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, director H.O. McCurry (1889–1964).


Clark’s Mother and Child drawings and paintings are sad and despondent, reflecting her state of mind at the time she painted each version. It seems that she set out to express her inner world through colour and form.

Gallery

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a snowy winter day seen from an elevated viewpoint, perhaps from the second floor of a house. A bare tree in the centre of the frame obscures the view of a row of brick homes across a snow-covered street.

Snowfall, 1935

Landscape painting by Paraskeva Clark with a high horizon and viewpoint. A golden wheat field, taking up most of the canvas, stretches into green forested hills. Red farm buildings are seen at the right edge of the field.

Wheat Field, 1936

Watercolour painting by Paraskeva Clark of the interior of a Russian bathhouse, seen from a high viewpoint. Simple nude female figures sit on benches and carry buckets of water in a room with tall windows and a vaulted ceiling.

Russian Bath, 1936

Watercolour painting by Paraskeva Clark of several items haphazardly arranged on a piece of furniture including song books, a hat with a green tassel and a red star on the front, and a red flag featuring a bold graphic of three working men and the initials C.N.T. across the top.

Presents from Madrid, 1937

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a crowd of people surrounded by tall buildings watching a puppet show. Two smiling puppets, a man in a tuxedo holding money bags and a police officer in a blue uniform, dangle another puppet wearing a striped shirt and suspenders over the top of a red box.

Petroushka, 1937

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a red rose in a green glass sitting on a windowsill. Through the window, branches with red leaves overlap and create a busy pattern in front of yellow light.

October Rose, 1941

Portrait painting by Paraskeva Clark of a woman with short brown hair in a pink suit. She has a serious expression on her face and is sitting in a room with brown walls, drapes, and formal furnishings. She holds a concert program in her hands that says "Salute to Russia" on the cover.

Self-Portrait with Concert Program, 1942

Painting by Paraskeva Clark showing women in 1940s hairstyles and wearing uniforms with short-sleeved shirts, ties, and navy skirts, in a factory manufacturing parachutes.

Parachute Riggers, 1947

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a woman with a child in her lap sitting at a table and reading a book by lamplight. Her head is resting in her free hand and she looks depressed. On the table are books and drawing tools and a guitar is hanging on the wall behind her.

Souvenirs of Leningrad: Mother and Child, 1955–56

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a snowy winter day seen from an elevated viewpoint, perhaps from the second floor of a house. A bare tree in the centre of the frame obscures the view of a row of brick homes across a snow-covered street.

Snowfall, 1935

Landscape painting by Paraskeva Clark with a high horizon and viewpoint. A golden wheat field, taking up most of the canvas, stretches into green forested hills. Red farm buildings are seen at the right edge of the field.

Wheat Field, 1936

Watercolour painting by Paraskeva Clark of the interior of a Russian bathhouse, seen from a high viewpoint. Simple nude female figures sit on benches and carry buckets of water in a room with tall windows and a vaulted ceiling.

Russian Bath, 1936

Watercolour painting by Paraskeva Clark of several items haphazardly arranged on a piece of furniture including song books, a hat with a green tassel and a red star on the front, and a red flag featuring a bold graphic of three working men and the initials C.N.T. across the top.

Presents from Madrid, 1937

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a crowd of people surrounded by tall buildings watching a puppet show. Two smiling puppets, a man in a tuxedo holding money bags and a police officer in a blue uniform, dangle another puppet wearing a striped shirt and suspenders over the top of a red box.

Petroushka, 1937

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a red rose in a green glass sitting on a windowsill. Through the window, branches with red leaves overlap and create a busy pattern in front of yellow light.

October Rose, 1941

Portrait painting by Paraskeva Clark of a woman with short brown hair in a pink suit. She has a serious expression on her face and is sitting in a room with brown walls, drapes, and formal furnishings. She holds a concert program in her hands that says "Salute to Russia" on the cover.

Self-Portrait with Concert Program, 1942

Painting by Paraskeva Clark showing women in 1940s hairstyles and wearing uniforms with short-sleeved shirts, ties, and navy skirts, in a factory manufacturing parachutes.

Parachute Riggers, 1947

Painting by Paraskeva Clark of a woman with a child in her lap sitting at a table and reading a book by lamplight. Her head is resting in her free hand and she looks depressed. On the table are books and drawing tools and a guitar is hanging on the wall behind her.

Souvenirs of Leningrad: Mother and Child, 1955–56

Souvenirs of Leningrad: Mother and Child - Art Canada