Join us for this special presentation at the Recapitulation Reunited Exhibition at the Coldstream Community Hall on Thursday, April 9 at 4 pm.
Presented by Adriana A. Davies, CM, Cavaliere d’Italia, PhD
Sveva Ersilia Giovanella Maria Fabiani Caetani di Sermoneta was born in Rome, Italy on August 6, 1917
to a middle-aged, aristocratic father and his young mistress. She died in Vernon, BC on April 27, 1994.
These two locations were the poles of her physical existence but the universe – past, present and future
– was the inspiration for her art. Her life is one of contradictions and of overcoming hardships to a
triumphant world filled with creativity.
While interest in her life has eclipsed her art in the public domain, over thirty years after her death, it is
time to bring her work front and centre and place it in the context of Canadian and international art.
Working within the genre of autobiographical painting, her subject matter ranges from the Medieval
mysticism of Dante, to Jungian and Freudian exploration of the psyche, to the mythic narratives of
Tolkien, and to the theory of relativity and Black Holes of the Space Age.
She is among the women artists of the twentieth century who focused on spirituality and human
evolution including Katharine Maltwood, Hilma af Klint, Leonora Carrington and Frida Kahlo. Her work
embraces various art movements from Surrealism to abstraction. It is a mind and heart journey through
both mythic and contemporary worlds.
Adriana A. Davies, author of Sveva Caetani’s Recapitulation Series: From Medieval Mysticism to the
Space Age, to be released by publisher Guernica Editions on October 1, 2026, will discuss Sveva’s
personal and artistic journey and re-appraise the Recapitulation series in order to give this dynamic
artist the recognition that she deserves.
Bio:
Adriana A. Davies, Order of Canada and Cavaliere d’Italia recipient, was born in Italy, grew up in Canada
and has BA and MA degrees from the University of Alberta, and a doctorate from the University of
London, England. She has worked as a writer, editor, curator, fine and decorative arts specialist, and
cultural executive director. She was science editor of The Canadian Encyclopedia and also created the
Alberta Online Encyclopedia (www.albertasource.ca), comprising 84 multimedia websites (33 with
Indigenous content). Publications include The Dictionary of British Portraiture (two volumes); From
Realism to Abstraction: The Art of J. B. Taylor; The Rise and Fall of Emilio Picariello; The Frontier of
Patriotism: Alberta and the First World War (co-editor and contributor); From Sojourners to Citizens:
Alberta’s Italian History; poetry anthology Changing My Skin: Dark Elegies and Other Poems; and
memoir My Theatre of Memory: A Life in Words. Her latest book, Sveva Caetani’s Recapitulation Series:
From Medieval Mysticism to the Space Age, will be released by Guernica Editions on October 1, 2026.