An illegitimate child of Victorian London, she grew up in an orphanage and was then sent to Canada as a teenager to work as a maid. Upon returning to England, she went to live with an aunt who introduced her to spiritualism and mediumistic art, which would constitute the primary basis of her practice. Considered one of the most successful self-taught artists, under the influence of her guiding spirit Myrninerest she created cushions, quilts, decorated clothes and pen and ink work on postcards, sheets of paper and long rolls of fabric, in a creative path characterized by automatic writing.
