Born to René and Rose Wahl in Evanston, Illinois, her parents recognized her creative talent early and enrolled her into a children’s art class.

In the opening sentence of her autobiographical essay she states: "I started drawing at age eight and knew then that what I really wanted was to make art.

In this same year she had a very productive run and painted what are considered some of her greatest works, including Thanatopsis, Hercules and the Arcadian Stag, and The Parting.

She made a full recovery from the cancer, and was productive until her death from a heart attack in June 1991.

[7] She was interviewed on October 3, 1981 by Paul Karlstrom as part of the California Oral History Project for the Archives of American Art.