Mary Pratt was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1935. She graduated with a bachelor of fine arts from Mount Allison University in 1961. She moved to the province in 1963 with her Newfoundland-born husband Christopher.
At the beginning of her career, the Pratts’ four young children became an important focus in her life. Her first solo exhibition was organized by Memorial University Art Gallery in 1967, after her children had reached school age. Her participation in the 1975 show Some Canadian Women Artists at the National Gallery of Canada, was a crucial point in her career. The London Regional Art Gallery organized her first nationally toured solo exhibition in 1981.
Pratt is one of Canada’s most respected realist painters. She is known for her perceptive depiction of light and the themes of domestic life, which recur in her work.
It is difficult for people to escape being indoctrinated by ideas beyond their own comprehension. It is easy to be tricked into thinking that a popular ideology is a satisfactory substitution for a personal philosophy. It is hard not to “join the parade”. My paintings investigate my observations of my own life. It has become increasingly exciting to discover that even within the confines of a small and uneventful life -truths -however humble in the origins can have universal importance. I am personally opposed to a world awash with easy information and facts. I prefer to discover things for myself and celebrate those discoveries in my painting.
–Mary Pratt , August 16, 2000