BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS  

Myfanwy Spencer
(m Nikola Pavelic)(m Donald Campbell)(Mrs. Spencer-Campbell)

April 27 1916 - May 7 2007

Order of Canada (1984)
The Limners (Victoria B.C., founding member 1971)
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (Member 1976)
Order of British Columbia (2001)


Myfanwy Spencer was born in Victoria, B.C. in 1916. She was a pupil of Philip Trueman Hicks in Boston, and of Augustin Booth, London.

Allan Edwards exhibited a portrait of her in a solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1939.

Who's Who in Northwest Art noted that she was a painter in oil and watercolour, and also of drawing in charcoal. She was living on Joan Crescent in Victoria in 1941.

She had a solo exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1938, exhibiting under the name Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic. She later exhibited her work in the B.C. Artists annuals at the Vancouver Art Gallery from 1942 to 1946, and 1958.

She was a founding member of the Victoria B.C. artists group known as The Limners, formed in 1971. Other members of the group included Herbert Siebner and Maxwell Bates.

She was a member elect of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1975, and a full member in 1976, having provided her diploma work to the Academy, a portrait of fellow artist Herbert Siebner. In 1979 she was living in Sidney, B.C. She died in 2007 at the age of 91.

In February 2008 a number of her artworks and sketchbooks came up for auction at Lund's, in Victoria.


SOLO EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION LOCATION
1938 September 6 - 15 Solo Show (13 artworks) VAG
1978 A Selection of Works 1950-1978 Burnaby Art Gallery
1986 Nov. 19 - Dec. 20 Altered Ego Floating Curatorial Gallery

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION ARTWORK
1942 Sept. 25 - Oct. 18 VAG   B.C. Artists 11th Annual "Pam" - Portrait of Mrs. Tom Austin
"Trudie" - Portrait of Mrs. James Munro
1943 Sept. 25 - Oct. 20 VAG   B.C. Artists 12th Annual Judith Robinson
Impression of Jan Cherniavsky
1944 July 4 - Aug. 30 VAG   B.C. Artists 3rd Annual Summer Judith Robinson
1944 Sept. 23 - Oct. 22 VAG   B.C. Artists 13th Annual Major Dennys Godfrey
Peggy Walton
1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21 VAG   B.C. Artists 14th Annual "Otto", Chef of Algonquin Hotel, New York
Self Portrait
1946 Sept. 21 - Oct. 13 VAG   B.C. Artists 15th Annual "Mother", Portrait of Mrs. Will Spencer
Room 1205
1946 Oct. ? - ? FCA    40 Selections from 15th BCA Room 1205


References - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Refer to BIBLIO.

References - GROUP EXHIBITIONS

B.C. ARTISTS 27th ANNUAL (refer to BCA58)

B.C. ARTISTS' TRIBUTE TO COLIN GRAHAM (refer to AGGV74)

PAPERWORKS: Contemporary works on paper by BC artists (refer to AGGV78)

BRITISH COLUMBIA WOMEN ARTISTS 1885-1985 (refer to AGGV85)

ART IN VICTORIA: 1960/1986 (refer to AGGV86)

EYE APPEAL 1987 (refer to CNIB87)

EROTIC ART FOR APRIL FOOLS (refer to BNE89)

References - GENERAL

WHO'S WHO IN NORTHWEST ART (refer to WWNA41)

BRITISH COLUMBIA - A CENTENNIAL ANTHOLOGY (refer to BCCA58)

PERMANENT COLLECTION (refer to AGGV64)

THE LIMNERS (refer to LIM72)

THE LIMNERS (refer to LIM75)

THE LIMNERS (refer to LIM78)

ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS - EXHIBITIONS & MEMBERS 1880 - 1979 (refer to RCA81)

BRITISH COLUMBIA ART COLLECTION 1974-80 (refer to BCAC80)

ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)

THE LIMNERS (refer to LIM86)

A PASSION FOR ART - The Art and Dynamics of the Limners (refer to PEB96)

THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA (refer to CE00)

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (refer to EBC00)

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
      3 references cited for Spencer, including WWNA above.

ARTISTS IN THEIR STUDIOS (refer to AIS07)

GREATER VANCOUVER ART GALLERIES 1954-2020 (refer to GVAG20)
     2 references to Spencer.

VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - B.C. ARTISTS FILES (refer to VPL)

Clippings

"Miss Spencer Shows Herself Clever Colorist"
      News Herald, September 21 1938

"Other interestings models have inspired ... Myfanwy Spencer Campbell in "Trudie," spacious in composition and painted with a lively feeling and virtuosity recalling John Sargent."
      From "Colorful Display Presented In Exhibition By B.C. Artists" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, September 19 1942

"Contrast this portrait with either "Pam" or "Trudie", by Myfanwy Campbell. Here the color harmony is restrained to the point of non-existence. The painting is smooth, and undoubtedly accomplished, but does not have any integral connection with the form. There is no seizure or accentuation of line for the sake of rhythm, of form for the sake of solidity, of color for the sake of pattern - three of the most elementary requirements of a good picture."
      From "Speaking of Art" by Browni Wingate
      News Herald, September 28 1942

"Myfanwy Spencer Campbell, well known Vancouver portrait painter, has been awarded the Beatrice Stone Silver Medal for an oil painting of a high order of merit. The prize-winning picture is a striking portrait of Judith Robinson, noted Canadian writer. Mrs. Campbell, whose painting name is "Myfanwy," was born in Victoria and received her early education in that city; later she pursued her studies in Montreal, London and France. She studied painting in London with the distinguished artist, Augustin Booth. Work by Myfanwy has been exhibited locally, with the Ontario Society of Artists, and other places. By her painting she has materially assisted the funds of the Canadian Red Cross Society. ... A charcoal drawing of Jan Cherniavsky, distinguished Vancouver musician, executed with great sympathy and psychological insight, gains for Myfanwy Spencer Campbell the Association Bronze Medal in the Graphic Arts Class. This event marks the first occasion on which one artist has won two medals in a single exhibition."
      From "12th Annual B.C. Artists' Exhibition"
      Vancouver Art Gallery Bulletin, November 1943

"At 71, there's no slowing down for artist Pavelic" by Elizabeth Godley
      Vancouver Sun, August 1 1987

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