Marilyn Jones | Emily Carr Chronicler

Emily Carr’s relationship with Lawren Harris and the Group of Seven is one of the most compelling artistic connections in Canadian cultural history—marked by admiration, encouragement, distance, and ultimately, a shared vision of a distinctly Canadian art. When Emily Carr returned to painting after meeting the Group of Seven in 1927 after years of financial struggle and creative uncertainty, she could not have anticipated the profound impact that a group of Toronto-based painters…

Born in Victoria in 1916, Myfanwy Pavelic — born Myfanwy Spencer, daughter of Spencer’s Department Store owner David Spencer — formed one of the most significant artistic relationships of her life with Emily Carr. The two met when Myfanwy was just six years old, and Carr was 45, beginning a friendship and mentorship that would shape the young artist’s creative future. Carr immediately recognized Myfanwy’s talent and encouraged her artistic ambitions at a…

In the early decades of the 20th century, Victoria was home to two extraordinary women whose lives and work would leave enduring marks on Canadian society: Emily Carr (1871–1945), the pioneering painter and writer, and Nellie McClung (1873–1951), the social reformer, suffragist, and politician. Though they shared a city and era, their paths, ambitions, and legacies were strikingly different, reflecting the multiple ways women of their generation could influence the world.  Read more: Emily…