[6] While at the institute, she met and trained under Marion Richardson, who "trained her to appreciate non-Western cultures"[6] During her stay in Machakos, Kenya, Trowell carried out research on art and the artistic ability of the Kamba people which led to writing her first book, African Arts and Crafts, published in 1937.
[8] This was meant to be an exhibition of her students' artworks as well as showcasing artefacts from East, Central and West Africa.
Baskets, mats, masks, sculptures, and paintings and was celebrated as the "first exhibition of African art" in Uganda.
[8] Because of a financial crisis within the colonial administration, a number of ethnological objects were neglected and the collection of the Protectorate Museum was damaged.
His appointment to the Colonial Medical Service prompted the move of the couple to Kenya in 1929 and later to Uganda upon transfer in 1935.