After graduating from Havergal College (1917–1927), she attended the University of Toronto for one year (1928) before enrolling at the Ontario College of Art (1929–1932). Her education at the OCA resulted in a series of awards and honours, which led to her being appointed an associate of the institution upon graduation. She was then offered a job sketching artifacts for the catalogue records of the Royal Ontario Museum by its director, Charles Trick Currelly, which she accepted.
