Dora de Pédery-Hunt

Dora de Pédery-Hunt was a Hungarian-born Canadian sculptor, designer, and medallist. After emigrating to Canada in 1948, she initially supported herself and her family through non-art work before friendships with sculptors Florence Wyle and Frances Loring helped her establish a professional artistic career. From the early 1950s she received corporate and private commissions and became an important figure in Canadian medallic art; she later served as president of the Sculptors Society of Canada and for decades represented Canada within FIDEM. Her relationship with the Royal Canadian Mint was that of an independent commissioned artist rather than a staff employee. Her numismatic work included the 1976 Montréal Olympic $100 gold coin and the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used on Canadian coinage from 1990 to 2003. Before emigrating she had married Hungarian journalist Béla Hunt; after his arrival in Canada they married again, later separated in the late 1950s, and divorced in the early 1960s.