She lived in the Athenaeum building with the Bass family; sculptor Shobal Vail Clevenger kept studio space there, and she observed him at work.

She borrowed some of Clevenger's clay and crafted a likeness of Seth Bass that was of such quality that he encouraged her to continue her art.

[3] Her best-known work is a portrait of Robert Rantoul, cast in plaster and presented to the Athenaeum in 1842;[2] it was the first sculpture by a woman to be shown there when it was exhibited in 1846.

[5] The Beverly Historical Society collection includes portrait busts of Quiner's father and of Phebe Ann Coffin Hanaford, a good friend.

Hanaford wrote a biographical sketch of Quiner,[2] and also penned two sonnets inspired by her and her work.