Mary Frances Pratt,[1] CC RCA D.Litt (née West) (March 15, 1935 – August 14, 2018)[2] was a Canadian painter known for photo-realist still life paintings.

[3] Pratt often spoke of conveying the sensuality of light in her paintings, and of the "erotic charge" her chosen subjects possessed.

[4] Mary Pratt's work focused on her relationship with domestic life in rural Newfoundland and common household items: jars of jelly, apples, aluminum foil, brown paper bags.

Using photographic projections while painting, Pratt's style was bold and flamboyant, rendering her subject vivid and realistic.

[6] Pratt arrived at her signature style in the late 1960s, after discovering that light was her central subject and deciding to incorporate photography into her artistic process.

[4] In 1978 Pratt's painting Girl in a Wicker Chair, created that year, was published on the cover of Saturday Night magazine.

She created a series of paintings on weddings, including a portrait of her daughter Barbara, entitled Barby in the Dress She Made Herself (1986).

Using pastels and coloured pencils in this series enabled Pratt to work on a larger scale than she had previously done in oils.

[4] In a 2013 Globe and Mail article, responding to critics of her work as too commercial, she said, "People will find out that in each one of the paintings there is something that ought to disturb them, something upsetting.

"[7] Pratt's paintings have been exhibited in most major galleries in Canada, reproduced in magazines such as Saturday Night, Chatelaine, and Canadian Art.

The big breakthrough for wider notice of Pratt's work came when the National Gallery of Canada included many of her paintings and drawing in an exhibition in 1975 titled Some Canadian Women Artists curated by Mayo Graham.

[10] The solo exhibition Mary Pratt: This Little Painting was on display at the National Gallery of Canada, running from April 4, 2015, to January 4, 2016.

Pratt chaired a committee to advise on the creation of the School of Fine Arts at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, Newfoundland in 1985.

Pratt held numerous other positions, including a seat on the Canada Council from 1987 to 1993, and on the Board of Regents of Mount Allison University from 1983 to 1991.

She was strongly influenced by her maternal grandmother, Edna McMurray, who was the co-founder of the first IODE chapter in New Brunswick and served as its activist president for over 20 years.

[6] Pratt attended Mount Allison University, studying Fine Arts under Alex Colville, Ted Pulford, and Lawren P.