Christmas Eve at 12 O’Clock, 1995

As with much of his work, the image begins in words. Language was central in his artistic practice. He wrote in journals daily and chose the titles for his paintings carefully. In his preparatory notes for this piece, Pratt reflects: “Christmas Eve, 12 O’Clock. The Hardy Poem. A sheep shed lit by an approaching figure. It is the viewer who goes to the shed; the light in his hand. The door to the shed is closed. Darkness behind - maybe trees. No moon or stars - the animals will not be on their knees.”

A published poet and nephew of E.J. Pratt, he treated language not only as a tool but as a material to be shaped. In this artwork, Pratt blends literature and visual art. The “Hardy poem” he alludes to, “The Oxen,” cites the myth of animals kneeling at midnight in honour of the birth of Jesus:

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.

‘Now they are all on their knees,’

An elder said as we sat in a flock

By the embers in hearthside ease.

We pictured the meek mild creatures where

They dwelt in their strawy pen,

Nor did it occur to one of us there

To doubt they were kneeling then.

So fair a fancy few would weave

In these years! Yet, I feel,

If someone said on Christmas Eve,

‘Come; see the oxen kneel

‘In the lonely barton by yonder coomb

Our childhood used to know,’

I should go with him in the gloom,

Hoping it might be so.

The piece presents a poignant moment: a portrait of the artist, seen from behind, poised to enter a barn, flashlight in hand. This is in stark contrast to many of his other self-portraits, in which he often faces the viewer.

“My father’s work is less about faith than about hope,” his daughter Anne explains. “It’s about moving through darkness—or standing in our darkest hour—longing for a sign of something greater, for something better to be true. Reason tells us that when you walk into the barn the animals won’t be kneeling. Hope is what pushes the door open anyway. In that moment the figure, Dad, is so exposed, so vulnerable—and yet you can’t help but hope alongside him.”