Art and Rivalry

Praise

“A fascinating view into how dueling ambitions and marital betrayal helped inspire some of the pair’s most iconic paintings.” —Sue Carter, Toronto Star

“As profound a portrait as I have read about the complexity of marriage between artists and the compromises a great female artist is willing to make. But when Mary Pratt painted portraits of her husband’s mistress and did it more powerfully than he, you have to question who was the more willful. Bishop-Gwyn’s writing is intense and elegant and makes Art and Rivalry a page turner.” —Rosemary Sullivan, author of Stalin’s Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva
 
“Carol Bishop-Gwyn offers a remarkable double portrait of Canada’s first couple of painting. She explores the lives of Mary and Christopher Pratt with the insight and sympathy of a friend and insider, and the wide lens and forensic scrutiny of an historian. Along the way we learn of the passions, tragedies and rivalries behind two extraordinary bodies of work.” —Ross King, author of Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies
 
“Carol Bishop-Gwyn has written a book unlike any other on two of Canada’s most important painters, Mary Pratt and Christopher Pratt. An insightful biography of remarkable but rival artists, it explores the complicated and troubled marriage that fuelled the renowned careers that defined the country’s cultural landscape in distinct ways. Beautifully written and researched, Art and Rivalry takes readers into the Pratt’s volatile Newfoundland home and deftly examines what drove Mary’s domestic scenes of emotion and turmoil and Christopher’s depictions of control and order. Deeply compelling, provocative and enlightening, this is a must-read for anyone interested in Canadian art and the complicated underpinnings of creativity.” —Sara Angel, PhD, Founder and Executive Director, The Art Canada Institute