Mary Frances Pratt
Mary Frances Pratt
1935 - 2018
CC OC RCA
One of Canada's best known artists, Realist painter Mary Pratt was born in 1935 and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She first took art classes at the Art Centre at the University of New Brunswick, then completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts programme at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick in 1961. While there, she received instruction from well known Realist painter Alex Colville. In 1956 she moved to St. John's Newfoundland, and in 1957 married Realist painter Christopher Pratt. After stints in Glasgow, Scotland, they moved to Salmonier in Newfoundland in 1963.

In 1969, Pratt began to use slides as reference for her images. Her realist works, exquisitely descriptive of everyday objects and scenes of preparing and consuming food, are not just a surface representation, but point to aspects of life that are hidden. Pratt stated, "to me, the surface is the given reality - the thin skin that shapes and holds those objects, which we recognize as symbols. The fact of their place in the order of our lives is what I find most interesting." A sensual delight in light and colour is an important part of her images.

In 1992 Pratt moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, and began to teach at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. After divorcing Christopher Pratt in 2004 she married artist James Rosen in 2006 in St. John's.

Pratt's first solo exhibition was at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Art Gallery in 1967, and since then Pratt has exhibited extensively across Canada and her works are in many museum collections. Notable among her numerous shows are a 1981 retrospective touring show originating at the London Regional Art Gallery, a touring show that originated in 1995 at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton and a 50-year touring retrospective organized by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia that tours from 2013 to 2015.

Pratt has an extensive list of honours - she has been given nine honorary degrees, and in 1996, was named a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1997, she was awarded the Canadian Molson Prize from the Canada Council. She has served with non-profit boards such as the Canada Council, government committees, and cultural initiatives, and has been the subject of several books.
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Girl in My Dressing Gown by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $289,250
Mary Frances Pratt
Girl in My Dressing Gown
60 1/2 x 30 1/2 in, 153.7 x 77.5 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000 CDN
Sold for: $289,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Thursday, May 23, 2024
Preserving Summer - Black Currant Jam by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $133,250
Mary Frances Pratt
Preserving Summer - Black Currant Jam
24 x 30 in, 61 x 76.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CDN
Sold for: $133,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Peaches Flaming in Crystal by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $73,250
Mary Frances Pratt
Peaches Flaming in Crystal
24 x 30 in, 61 x 76.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $55,000 - $75,000 CDN
Sold for: $73,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The Florentine by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $59,000
Mary Frances Pratt
The Florentine
13 x 21 in, 33 x 53.3 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $50,000 - $60,000 CDN
Sold for: $59,000 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2015 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 26, 2015
Yellow Pear on a Yellow Plate by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $59,000
Mary Frances Pratt
Yellow Pear on a Yellow Plate
18 x 27 in, 45.7 x 68.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CDN
Sold for: $59,000 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2014 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Water, Spout & Cut Melon by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $55,250
Mary Frances Pratt
Water, Spout & Cut Melon
20 x 27 3/4 in, 50.8 x 70.5 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CDN
Sold for: $55,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Gold Pear in Red by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $54,625
Mary Frances Pratt
Gold Pear in Red
15 3/4 x 24 in, 40 x 61 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $30,000 - $35,000 CDN
Sold for: $54,625 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
A Light Serving on Copper by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $49,725
Mary Frances Pratt
A Light Serving on Copper
16 x 24 7/8 in, 40.6 x 63.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CDN
Sold for: $49,725 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2009 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 26, 2009
Points of Lemon by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $49,725
Mary Frances Pratt
Points of Lemon
18 x 24 in, 45.7 x 61 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CDN
Sold for: $49,725 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2008 - 1st Session on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Waiting in the Sun in Salmonier by Mary Frances Pratt sold for $49,250
Mary Frances Pratt
Waiting in the Sun in Salmonier
24 x 36 in, 61 x 91.4 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CDN
Sold for: $49,250 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2017 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 24, 2017