Beatrice Fenton was born on July 12, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to parents Lizzie Spear (née Remak) and Thomas Hanover.

Inspired by the painter Rosa Bonheur, she decided to become an animalier and began drawing animals at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Eakins found the drawings “too flat” and suggested that she “get some clay and mold it.” Fenton enrolled in a sculpture class taught by Alexander Stirling Calder in 1903, and her future direction was set.

[5] Works by Fenton were shown at PAFA's annual exhibition most years from 1911 to 1964,[6] and she was awarded the George D. Widener Memorial Gold Medal in 1922 for Seaweed Fountain.

While studying at PAFA, Fenton met fellow artists Marjorie Martinet and Emily Clayton Bishop.