Katherine Bradford, painter with Maine ties, wins Rappaport Prize

Katherine Bradford is the recipient of the 2021 Rappaport Prize.Canda New York/Javier Romero

Katherine Bradford, a painter who splits time between Brooklyn, N.Y., and Brunswick, Maine, is the 2021 winner of the $35,000 Rappaport Prize. Bradford, whose works employ indistinct figures and ambiguous scenes in soft focus that evoke dreamlike landscapes and psychological states, has shown at many major museums, including MoMA PS1 and the Brooklyn Museum, both in New York.

In September, Bradford and the artist Diedrick Brackens will feature in a two-person exhibition at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University. Next year, the Portland Museum of Art, in Maine, will present a full retrospective of her work.

The Rappaport Prize, established in 2000, is given annually to an artist with New England roots “who has demonstrated significant creativity and vision.” The Rappaport Prize is administered by the deCordovaSculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln. Bradford will deliver the annual Rappaport lecture in person at the museum and on Zoom at 6 p.m. on Nov. 3. A solo exhibition of the artist’s work will follow at a date to be determined.