Myfanwy Pavelic, (April 27, 1916 – May 7, 2007) née Spencer, was a Canadian portrait artist.

Early life and career

Born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

to an upper-class family, her first interests in fine art came after meeting with

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

on Vancouver Island who later gave a brief series of instruction to Pavelic. Aside from a few months of study with a Yugoslav artist, she was self-taught as a painter. She studied at

Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School (ECS) is an independent school for girls that is located in Westmount, Quebec. It is situated near other schools, including Selwyn House School and The Study. The school teaches students from Kindergarten u ...

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

as a boarder. During the Second World War, she held a one-person exhibition of portraits in Canada and donated the proceeds to the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. She later married a diplomat and had one daughter who suffered a disability. Pavelic was one of few Canadian artists who had their work shown at the National Portrait Gallery, where her portrait of

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

was displayed. She later donated the portrait of her friend to the National Portrait Gallery, making her the first known Canadian-born artist to be represented in their permanent collection. Pavelic's childhood home was donated to the City of Victoria and converted into the art gallery.

Awards and honours

In 1984, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 1984 she received an Honorary Doctorate from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

and awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In 2001, she was made a Member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

. In 1997 she became a founding member of the Canadian Portrait Academy (CPA) and in 1998 won the F.H. Varley Medallion for Best Portrait Painting for her portrait of

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

. She was made a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

Exhibitions

* ''Collages: Myfanwy Pavelici,''

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) is an art museum located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Situated in Rockland, Victoria, the museum occupies a building complex; made up of the Spencer Mansion, and the Exhibition Galleries. The ...

, Victoria, British Columbia, 1976 * ''Variations on the Figure'', Utley Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia, 1977 * ''For Yehudi Menuhiin'', Maltwood Art Gallery and Museum, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, 1983 * ''Yehudi Menuhin'',

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, London, England, 1985 * ''Relationships'', North Park Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia, 1985 * ''Smalls'', North Park Gallery, Victoria, British Columbia, 1985 * ''Altered Ego'', Women in Focus Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, 1986 * ''Trudeau'', Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, 1992 * ''Myfanwy Pavelic: Inner Explorations'',

, British Columbia, 1994

References

External links

Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic
at ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

''
From Menuhin to Trudeau, she painted them all
at ''

Victoria Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily Co ...

''
Canadian Portrait Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavelic, Myfanwy 1916 births 2007 deaths Canadian women painters Members of the Order of British Columbia Members of the Order of Canada Artists from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian portrait painters Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 20th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian women artists