M. A. Yewdale

M. A. "Mer" Yewdale (1908–2000) was an early 20th-century, West Coast Canadian pioneer and heritage artist, who created prolifically, with a bold and colourful palette. Producing an expansive array of several hundred artworks during her lifetime, she preferred to live a life of modesty and reclusiveness. She created her own expansive gardens, lived in the embrace of a natural wooded hillside forest, and wild creeks, and was totally and naturally, drawn into perfect harmony with her environment. She championed the voice of nature in a rapport that resonated with an intuitive empathy and passionate articulation of her subjects, no matter what the medium or genre, and was respected and cherished by those few who knew her as, "a national treasure".

In 1999, Yewdale was heralded by Canadian art icons, Jack Shadbolt and Doris Shadbolt, as being the Cézanne/Monet of Canada, in a letter to the Mayor of the City of Burnaby, British Columbia.

She graduated from the original Vancouver School of Art (1957–1961) and from the University of British Columbia (1963–1965) majoring in Fine Arts and philosophy, and culminating in a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.