Seath’s oil and watercolour paintings were primarily still life and landscape, exploring colour and adding abstract elements to everyday scenes.

[9][10] Her father had an unsuccessful business in importing leather goods, and also struggled with chronic illness; evidence suggests he was an alcoholic which led to the separation of her parents when she was a teenager.

To help support her family when she finished high school in 1896, she joined the workforce at the age of 17 and went straight to work at the Montreal Star where she was inspired by the head of the art department, who at the time was well-known cartoonist Arthur G.

[13] In 1901, Seath moved to the art staff on the Montreal Star where the dean of Canadian illustrators, Henri Julien, was another influence on the young artist who described him as supportive and helpful "with his splendid knowledge and talents.".

She pursued the use of bold colours when she embarked on open air sketching trips with Maurice Cullen into the Quebec countryside in 1911.

[22] Bolstered by her success in her chosen profession, Seath attended William Brymner and Maurice Cullen’s summer plein air sketching classes at the Art Association of Montreal.

Seath worked in a variety of media, such as charcoal, gouache, oil paint, pastel, watercolour, graphite, pen and ink.

[25] Disregarding the traditional Victorian values and attitudes embraced at the time, Seath’s strong personality and progressive teaching methods sought to liberate the imagination, intuition, and spontaneity of an entire generation of young followers.

[26] Although the works they produced expressed each artist’s individual style and perspective, as a whole they presented a unified vision in their colour and mood.

[23] During the 1920s and 1930s, she—along with Beaver Hall colleagues Sarah Robertson, Kathleen Morris, and Anne Savage—designed a series of Christmas cards inspired by Canadian artists for Rous and Mann.

[23] Due to the Great Depression, Seath, along with many other Beaver Hall artists, sought additional means to supplement their waning income.

[31] In 1939, Seath was elected a member of the Contemporary Arts Society of Montreal, an honour that was bestowed again the following year by the Federation of Canadian Artists.

[32] Seath soon realized that by forming a unified alliance, the women painters stood a greater chance of attracting art curators and collectors to view their works.

[32] Therefore, in 1940, with the Beaver Hall painters’ support of each other, Seath joined a four-woman show with Prudence Heward, Sarah Robertson, and Anne Savage at the Art Gallery of Toronto.