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. 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.