[1][3] She studied painting at the Cooper Union, and the National Academy of Design.

[3] She also took private art lessons from James David Smillie, and Joseph Oriel Eaton.

[1][2] She met painter George Henry Smillie through her teacher, his brother James.

In June 1881, she married George at All Souls' Church in New York City.

[3] Smillie died on July 31, 1926, in at Hotel Shelton in New York City.