He was born in
Boston, Massachusetts. His family moved to
Cleveland, Ohio, when McVey was still in high school. Following his graduation he attended the
Cleveland School of Art. He left to attend
Rice University, where he played football under Coach
John Heisman in 1924 while studying illustration. He returned to art school in Cleveland but did not study sculpture there because "his personality (was) incompatible with that of
Herman Matzen, who headed the department." While studying at night he worked for the Gandola Brothers making tombstones. In 1929, a patron financed a "shoe-string' budgeted trip to Paris, where he studied with
Despiau and
Gimond as well as earning a meager living as one of three American guides at the
Louvre Museum. In 1932, after three years in Paris, he returned to Cleveland and taught at the
Cleveland Museum of Art. Shortly afterwards he was employed by the
Works Progress Administration for whom he created several works using the
direct carving approach. Around 1935, McVey returned to Texas to teach at the
University of Texas in
Austin. During
World War II he entered the
army and was stationed at
Fort Randolph Army Base, where he taught plane and ship
silhouette "
recognition." Called up to explain why his students were being taught art in their classes, a test of his students showed that they scored higher in "recognition' tests than students taught in the traditional manner, and his approach was subsequently adopted by the other classes. Following his discharge from the
army McVey, then married to "radical"
ceramicist Leza McVey, moved to
Cranbrook Academy of Art in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he taught sculpture (1947–1954) and she studied with
Maija Grotell. He died in
Cleveland, Ohio on May 30, 1995. His papers are held at
Rice University. ==Honors==