This past month, The Kingston Prize declared Louise Kermode’s Madonna in a Tulip Chair this year’s winner. The Kingston Prize is a biennial competition that celebrates contemporary portraiture by Canadian artists. The prize, amounting to $25,000, aims to encourage and reward Canadian artists while building a living historical record of Canadians and showcasing their diverse identities and experiences through real-life encounters.
Installation view of The Kinston Prize exhibition at Arta Gallery, Toronto.
During this year’s cycle, 420 artists applied to the competition. The jury consisted of renown Canadian artist, Gordon Shadrach, and scholars, Chloe Pelletier (Curator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts), and Lauchie Reid (Chair of Illustration at OCAD University). These jurors selected the winners from a pool of applicants before settling on 30 finalists of talented Canadian artist’ portraits for the exhibition. Among others Orlin Mantchev’s and Opeyemi Olukotun’s paintings were outstanding.
Orlin Mantchev in front of his painting, James Baird (from the series “The Cosmos I am”), oil on canvas, 152 x 152 cm
Opeyemi Olukotun with his painting, A Cup of Silence, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 120 cm
Interview with Louise Kermode, the winner of the 2025 Kingston Prize
Louise Kermode receiving the winning prize of The Kingston Prize from Jason Donville
APR: As someone who recently transitioned from university work into full-time artistic practice, how has your background influenced your art?
LK: I took several art history courses as a student at U of T and coincidentally ended up working as an admin assistant in the Art History department for 15 years. I think being so exposed to art history for so long has given me a framework for approaching my own work that is almost instinctual. I see art historical references everywhere, which informs the contemporary imagery that I paint.
Not relying on my art for income gave me the flexibility to paint only what I wanted to paint. Keeping my painting practice in a holding pattern until I retired was a very long exercise in discipline and delayed gratification!
APR: How did you hear about the Kingston Prize? Could you offer some advice to artists seeking to participate in similar events/exhibits?
LK: I can’t remember how I became aware of it, but I’ve known about the Kingston Prize for a long time. I had already begun work on the portrait of Donna when the call for submissions for this year’s prize went out.
Louise Kermode and Donna in front of Kermode’s winning portrait of Donna, Madonna in a Tulip Chair
APR: Can you share more about your decision to portray Donna in her seventies? How did you first learn about her, and what drew you to her?
LK: I’ve been a fan of Mary and Christopher Pratt’s work for a long time, so I was familiar with the “Donna paintings”. I met Donna when she was working at the Gallery Grill at Hart House on U of T’s St. George campus. I’d gone there for lunch with Dr. Elizabeth Legge who was Chair of the Art History Department at the time. Donna and Elizabeth knew each other and when Donna left the table, Elizabeth said, “you should paint Donna!” and I thought it was such a great idea. As someone who has more of my life behind me than ahead of me, I’m a bit preoccupied right now with the passage of time. Painting an artist’s muse 40 years after she came to prominence, I thought would be a perfect way to explore that theme.
When I began planning this portrait, I knew I wanted to reference my favourite Donna painting Girl in a Wicker Chair, but I didn’t want it to be a literal copy of it. I wanted to bring in my favourite elements of Mary Pratt’s painting – the beautiful symmetry and light effects – but interpret them in my own way. By referencing the earlier painting, I wanted to highlight not only the similarities but the differences to show that this is a painting of the same person but with age and experience she presents herself differently to the world.
It was also an opportunity to continue Donna’s story, this time as a portrait subject as opposed to a figure model, and to reflect on her place in Canadian art history.
Mary Pratt: Girl in a wicker chair, 1978, oil on canvas (left) and Louise Kemrode: Madonna in a Tulip Chair, oil on aluminum composite panel, 116 x 76 cm (right)
APR: What artistic choices did you make in terms of composition, medium, or symbolism in this painting, and what do they signify for you?
LK: When I was reviewing the photos that I took of Donna as source material for the painting, I was struck by how many of them were vaguely reminiscent of renaissance Madonna imagery. I decided to lean into that because the concept so perfectly captured Donna’s mythic status. I used about 5 or 6 different photos in coming up with the final composition. It was also a conscious choice to have Donna’s bare feet figure prominently. This was partly because it was a way to associate my painting with the earlier paintings of Donna, but also because to me they convey her vulnerability, and that was something I wanted to emphasize as well.
APR: What is your most fond memory from participating in this event?
LK: There isn’t one specific moment I can point to, just overwhelming gratitude for the community of artists and supporters who believe in the work that we do and gave so much to make it happen.
Antonella Pecora Ruiz
Images are courtesy of The Kingston Prize, credit Michael Reyes, and the artists. (CNW Group/The Kingston Prize)
*Exhibition information: The Kingston Prize, Nov 8 – 14, 2025 Arta Gallery, Toronto, then the exhibition will tour the country.