Myfanwy Pavelic

Myfanwy Pavelic
Born	Myfanwy Spencer (1916-04-27)April 27, 1916 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Died	May 7, 2007(2007-05-07) (aged 91) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Education	Privately by Emily Carr
Known for	Painting
Notable work	"Katharine Hepburn", "Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau"
Movement	Post Modern, Contemporary
Awards	Order of Canada Order of British Columbia Canadian Portrait Academy

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

Early life and career

Born in Victoria, British Columbia to an upper-class family, her first interests in fine art came after meeting with Emily Carr on Vancouver Island who later gave a brief series of instruction to Pavelic. During the Second World War she held a one person exhibition of portraits in Canada and donated the proceeds to the Red Cross. She later married a diplomat and had one daughter who suffered a disability.

Pavelic lived a life of privilege and as an adult. Her childhood home was later donated to the City of Victoria and converted into the first art gallery.

Pavelic was one of few Canadian artists who had their work shown at the National Portrait Gallery, where her portrait of Yehudi Menuhin 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.

Awards and honours

In 1984, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2001, she was made a Member of the Order of British Columbia.

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. She was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

External links

• Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• From Menuhin to Trudeau, she painted them all at Victoria Times-Colonist
• Canadian Portrait Academy