"The reality comes first, and the symbol comes after. I see these things, and suddenly they become symbolic of life." — Mary Pratt.

Luminescent canvases form the visual focus of Mary Pratt, a career retrospective that examines every aspect of Pratt's unique creative journey. Pratt's paintings — including Eggs in an Egg Crate, Salmon on Saran, Eviscerated Chickens, Cod Fillets on Tin Foil, This is Donna — have achieved iconic status. Capturing what she describes as "the stuff of life," Mary Pratt's work elevates the mundane to the monumental, creating silent moments infused with significance.

This major volume, the first on Mary Pratt's work in almost twenty years, features more than seventy-five reproductions of her most renowned works as well as essays by five of Canada's finest art writers: columnist and art critic Sarah Milroy; Catharine Mastin of the Art Gallery of Windsor; Mireille Eagan and Caroline Stone of The Rooms; and Ray Cronin and Sarah Fillmore of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Together, they create a conversation around Pratt's technique and influences, examining the themes that weave through and around her art: the role of place and personal biography, the passage of time, the very act of looking and, of course, the "stuff of life."

Mary Pratt is designed to accompany a major touring exhibition organized by The Rooms and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.