Her father Alexander Nasmyth and six of her siblings—Jane, Barbara, Elizabeth, Anne, Charlotte, and Patrick—were all notable artists.

[1] Margaret imitated her father in style, but like Barbara she also practiced the more detailed, minute brushwork of her brother Patrick.

[1] She did not exhibit until 1841 at the age of fifty, by which date the whole family had come to live with James, when presumably she had more leisure time to devote to painting.

She travelled widely, drawing subjects from across Scotland, Cumberland, Lancashire, north Wales, Shropshire, Westmorland, Cheshire, Blackford Heath, and Chigwell, Essex.

Fine examples are Lake Scene and View of Kinfauns Castle Perthshire.