She studied under Abastenia St. Leger Eberle and George Demetrius, focusing her art on marble busts and portrait heads.

[1] Margaret French was painted by many artists who were friendly with her father, and many of these portraits may be found today at Chesterwood in Massachusetts, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In December 1912, the Swiss-born American portrait painter Adolfo Müller-Ury painted a bust length portrait of Margaret, which was exhibited by him in New York in March and April 1913 after having been donated to the French family that January.

She married William Penn Cresson, an American author, diplomat, and architect in 1921.

She is buried in Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, along with her husband.