[3][1] Following the death of her father in 1889 her family moved to the North Island and she attended the Norsewood School,[1] where her eldest sister worked as a teacher.

[3] She married Guy Raphael Butler, a law clerk from Poverty Bay, in Gisborne on 1 March 1911 and they settled in Christchurch.

During her time at the college she studied under Sydney Thompson, Leonard Booth, Cecil Kelly, and Richard Wallwork.

[1] Works by Butler are also held at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki including Glaciers, Rolleston Mountains (presented to the museum in 1922),[9][1] Bush Trees, Lake Kanieri,[17] and Governor's Bay.

[1] Butler was committed to the en plein air method and often worked in adverse conditions at remote sites.