[1][2] She traveled to the Middle East and painted oriental scenes in oils and water colours.

She was awarded the Order of the Chefakat and the Medaille des Beaux-Arts in the Ottoman Empire.

[5] Some of her paintings are held in collections, including the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath (Frederick Harrison, Author); Towneley Hall, Burnley (The Gambler's Wife); the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (Cleopatra); and the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield (The Egg Seller); and Cartwright Hall, Bradford (Rich and rare were the gems she wore).

Yet, her paintings regularly appear in the catalogues of leading auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's.

Scholar, Julia Kuehn, has explained this by pointing out that Cookesley's work was intended for a mass market rather than as a form of high art.