Curatorial Introduction
Mary Kenworthy’s work reflects a lifelong commitment to making, learning, and observing. Working primarily outside major urban centres, she built a sustained creative practice grounded in curiosity rather than recognition, and process rather than polish.
Her paintings, writing, and sculptural works are rooted in lived experience. Prairie landscapes, interiors, and abstract forms emerge not as idealized scenes, but as personal responses to place, memory, and time. Across decades of work, her practice remained deliberately non static, marked by experimentation and a refusal to settle into a single style.
This archive presents her work as a record of a serious regional artist whose legacy lies in breadth, consistency, and quiet persistence.
“An artist never stops learning.”
— Mary Kenworthy
— Mary Kenworthy
Biography
Mary Kenworthy was a Canadian visual artist and writer based in Rockyford, Alberta, with later ties to Strathmore. Largely self taught in her early years, she later pursued formal instruction and remained committed to continuous learning throughout her life. Press coverage repeatedly described her as an artist who never stopped experimenting. Her primary medium was painting, working most often in acrylics, though her creative practice extended into poetry, sculpture, clay work, and mixed media. Rather than developing a fixed signature style, she moved freely between landscapes, still lifes, abstract compositions, and three dimensional forms.
Her landscapes were rooted in the Alberta prairie and rural surroundings she knew intimately. These works emphasized mood and personal response over realism, often prioritizing atmosphere and feeling above detailed representation. Across all media, her work reflected an interest in process, exploration, and authenticity rather than commercial outcome.
Kenworthy was actively exhibiting and receiving recognition from at least the early through the late 1980s. She showed her work in regional galleries, banks, libraries, and public venues throughout Alberta, and participated in Society of Arts exhibitions and juried shows. Her work was frequently covered in local and regional press, where she was framed as a serious artist working outside major urban centres, balancing family life and rural living with a sustained creative practice.
In addition to her visual work, Kenworthy was also an accomplished writer and poet. Her poetry was formally recognized and discussed alongside her visual art, reflecting a single, integrated creative voice rather than separate disciplines. Her artwork has since been donated to facilities and collections throughout Alberta. Her family continues to hold and preserve a number of significant works from her personal collection.
This website exists to preserve her artwork and present it as faithfully as possible. Many original photographs of the paintings were limited by age, resolution, or lighting. AI tools were used to enhance and restore these images so the artwork could be viewed more clearly. Every detail was kept the same. No creative changes were made. Composition, colour, texture, and intent remain true to the original works.
This site is managed by her grandson, Bret Kenworthy, to preserve her work and share her legacy.
Selected Accomplishments & Recognition
Third Place, Creative Writing (Poetry)
Alberta Seniors Games, 1986
Bronze Medal awarded
Alberta Seniors Games, 1986
Bronze Medal awarded
Multiple placements and recognitions at the Drumheller Exhibition
Including awards and honorable mentions across several classes
Including awards and honorable mentions across several classes
Featured artist in regional exhibitions throughout Alberta
Including galleries, banks, libraries, and public venues
Including galleries, banks, libraries, and public venues
Inclusion in juried shows and Society of Arts exhibitions
Ongoing press coverage highlighting her experimental approach, work ethic, and lifelong commitment to learning
Artwork donated to facilities and collections across Alberta