signed, titled & dated
Mary Pratt was born Mary Frances West in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she grew up living what she has described as an “idyllic” childhood. Her artistic abilities were evident early on, and Pratt herself vividly describes early memories where she observed the play of light and colour in everyday objects. It followed, that she enrolled in the Fine Art program at Mount Allison University. She studied under such eminent artists as Alex Colville, Lawren Harris and Ted Pulford. It was here that she met artist Christopher Pratt, then a pre-med student. They soon married, and she moved with him to Glasgow, where Christopher attended the Glasgow School of Art. Mary had also hoped to enroll in the program, but was denied admission, as she was pregnant at the time and the school administration thought it inappropriate for her to study in that “condition”.
After returning to Canada two years later, Mary completed her BFA, while juggling her responsibilities as a mother. The young family soon moved to a cottage in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. During these early years, Pratt put her career on hold to raise four young children, run a household, and allow Christopher Pratt to focus on his artistic career. When she began to paint again, Mary turned to the domestic images around her: dinner tables, dishes, meat, fruit, and vegetables; what she later described as “the stuff of life, the stuff that everyone touches every day, the stuff that a woman understands.” Ultimately, the need for practicality and multi-tasking played a role: she painted anywhere in the house, using a small easel on a rolling table and working quickly. Mary Pratt had her first solo exhibition in 1967, at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. At her husband’s suggestion, she began to use photography as a means of capturing and recording the transient effects of light and colour. The first painting she produced from a colour slide was “Supper Table” (1969) and it would become one of the most significant paintings of her career. Initially plagued by self-doubt (and external criticism) Pratt persisted, and has gone on to gain numerous exhibitions, awards and accolades for her artistic contributions in a style that not only embraces, but transcends photo-realism.
Literature: “Mary Pratt” (Cronin et al., Goose Lane Editions; 2013); “A Personal Calligraphy” (Pratt, Goose Lane Edtions; 2000); “Women Between” (Reid, University of Calgary Press, 2008)
