O-9169

•

painting (portrait)

•

The Honourable Geoff Regan

Artist’s Statement

It was my pleasure to paint the official portrait of Speaker Geoff Regan. I found him to be very pleasant, patient, and down-to-earth.

Whenever possible, I like to include something in a portrait that is meaningful to my subject—be it career related or something that reflects their character or their life story. During our meeting to discuss his portrait, Mr. Regan showed me a picture that he had painted of a rural scene in Nova Scotia. We agreed that his painting, if used as a backdrop, would reflect who he is and his Nova Scotia roots and would add some colour to the halls of Parliament.

James Middleton

James Middleton is a Canadian artist, living in Nova Scotia. He is a founding member of the Sunrise Painters Portrait Group and a member of the Portrait Society of Canada, the Portrait Society of America, the Society of Canadian Artists, the Oil Painters of America, the Ontario Plein Air Society, and the Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy. His work includes portraits, landscapes, figurative work and still lifes.

Middleton’s landscapes and portrait sketches have been called impressionistic realism. He enjoys the description and the balance it brings to his commissioned portraits.

A turning point in his artistic career was in 2006, when he attended a week-long workshop with master painter Albert Handell in Putney, Vermont. There he met and painted with the legendary painter Richard Schmid, his wife Nancy Guzik, and their group the Putney Painters. It was such an inspiring and educational experience that he returned to Putney the following year for a second workshop with Handell and the opportunity to further learn from Schmid. Other influences have been Sorolla, Zorn, Sargent and Fechin.

The Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C.

The Honourable Geoff Regan, 36th Speaker of the House of Commons, was the first Speaker from Atlantic Canada in almost one hundred years.

A lawyer by training, Mr. Regan has deep roots in politics: he is the son of a former Premier of Nova Scotia and federal Cabinet Minister, and the grandson of a former Member of Parliament from Saskatchewan. His wife, the Honourable Kelly Regan, is a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Nova Scotia and a former minister and deputy premier.

First elected as Member of Parliament for Halifax West in 1993, Mr. Regan served as both a government and opposition MP, as parliamentary secretary and as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, before being elected Speaker by his colleagues in December 2015. He held this position until 2019.

His distinguished career and his family’s political legacy instilled in Mr. Regan a profound respect for Parliament, and a determination to uphold its dignity, both inside and outside the Chamber.