[1] Fiske enrolled at the Boston Museum School sometime around 1904 where she studied with Edmund C. Tarbell, Frank Benson and Philip Hale.

She often portrayed distinctive New England characters (including florists, craftsmen, postmen, fishermen and clerics), in a style popular throughout the 1920s.

[10] Fiske also painted landscapes, including of Revere Beach, a stone quarry in Weston, Massachusetts, and the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Fiske, says McCartney, "challenged established stereotypes for women with her extraordinary talent, dignity, and work ethic.

Painting during a time when conservative traditions and social roles were firmly set for women, Fiske forged her own path.