McVey studied at the Worcester (Massachusetts) Art Museum, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and Rice University; and in Paris, at the Academie Colarossi, the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, and the Academie Scandinave. He was a pupil of Despiau from 1929 to 1931 and later taught at a number of institutions including Cleveland College, Texas University, and Cranbrook Art Academy. In 1953, he returned to his alma mater, the Cleveland Institute of Art, to join the faculty there.
A prolific artist, he is represented in private collections and in museums throughout the country. Examples of his public sculpture can be found in many major American cities, especially in Cleveland and Washington, D. C. Among these are doors for the National Archives building and the Federal Trade Commssion building in Washington; statues of George Washington and Jesse Owens in Cleveland; one of Senator Harry Byrd in Richmond, Virginia; a number of religious works for the National Cathedral, Washington; and a frieze commemorating the battle of the Alamo in Houseon. McVey executed architectural sculpture for Christ Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, and for Detroit's Eastland Shopping Center.
Poor health forced McVey's retirement from sculpting and teaching in 1991.
