[1] Both sisters enrolled in painting classes at the Glasgow School of Art in 1891, where they met the young artists Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Herbert MacNair.

Frances also produced a wide variety of other artistic work, including embroidery, metalwork panels and watercolour paintings.

[5] The closure of the School in 1905, and the loss of the MacNair family wealth through a business failure, led to a slow decline in their careers, and they returned to Glasgow in 1909.

[6] In the years that followed, Frances painted a series of symbolist watercolours addressing the choices facing women, such as marriage and motherhood.

Frances MacDonald frequently worked with her sister, developing a distinctive style influenced by mysticism, symbolism, Christianity, and Celtic imagery.

[10] Like her sister, she was influenced by the work of William Blake and Aubrey Beardsley and this reflected in her use of elongated figures and linear elements.