He died in 1869 while the family was traveling in Europe, and his wife returned with the three children to the United States.
She graduated from Wilberham Academy and attended Smith College for one year before pursuing her artistic education at Cooper Union, during which time she also studied with J. Alden Weir.
She also submitted paintings to the National Academy of Design for exhibition in 1890 and 1892, signing the latter work "H. Campbell Foss" in an attempt to obscure her gender.
Foss exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
Beginning in 1905 Foss maintained a New York studio and a home in Stamford, Connecticut; in 1909 she moved to Darien, becoming active with the Seven Arts League.