Article

Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic

Published Online October 24, 2007

Last Edited December 16, 2013

Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic, painter (b at Victoria 27 Apr 1916; d there 7 May 2007). Largely self-taught, Pavelic's talent was noticed early by Emily CARR, who arranged an exhibition of her work in 1934. From 1944 to 1960 she spent much time in New York.

Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic

Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic, painter (b at Victoria 27 Apr 1916; d there 7 May 2007). Largely self-taught, Pavelic's talent was noticed early by Emily CARR, who arranged an exhibition of her work in 1934. From 1944 to 1960 she spent much time in New York. The abstract art so prevalent there made her question her own style. However, the human figure remained her prime interest and her mature style was dominated by humanistic and meditative tendencies. In 1983 the British National Portrait Gallery accepted Pavelic's portrait of Yehudi Menuhin to hang in its permanent collection - the first Canadian-born artist so honoured. Pavelic was a founding member of the Society of Limners (1971), a Victoria group of artists named after the travelling journeymen painters of the Middle Ages.