[1] Katherine Wallis was born in 1861 outside of Peterborough, Canada West, in a small town called Merino.

Each member of the Wallis family was artistically gifted including her mother who enjoyed music and singing.

[2] Wallis role models were her mother's friends, including Catharine Parr Traill, her sister Susanna Moodie and the painter Anne Langton.

"[2] At this early time, Katherine Wallis had not yet realized she was interested in sculpture, but she knew that opportunities for female artists in Canada were limited.

While at the Scottish National Gallery as a copyist, Wallis was able to earn a living making copies of famous art works.

After her stay in Canada and tending the family's farm for the next thirteen years, Katherine Wallis had the freedom and financial stability to return to Europe.

They settled in Dresden, Germany, and spent two years travelling around Europe, viewing famous paintings, sculptures and architecture.

In 1897, Wallis received the Modeller's Free Scholarship, which allowed her to continue her studies for two more years until she decided to move to Paris.

Wallis was made a member of the National Society for Sanity in Art, which allowed her to exhibit once a year in San Francisco and Chicago.

[2] In 1944, Wallis showed her sculptures Coming Always Nearer and Speed at the Santa Cruz Art League's Fifteenth Annual Exhibition.

Later that year, she created a piece called Victory; a woman who smiles as she carries a dove while holding an olive branch.