She settled in England after her marriage to Adrian Scott Stokes (1854–1935), the landscape painter, whom she had met in Pont-Aven.

She first studied in Munich under Lindenschmit, and having been awarded a scholarship for her first picture, Mutterglück, she worked in France under Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (1852–1929), Colin and Gustave Courtois (1853–1923).

She painted in the countryside and Paris, and, as with many other young painters, fell under the spell of the rustic naturalist Jules Bastien-Lepage.

Her style continued to show his influence even when her subject matter changed from rustic to medieval romantic and biblical themes.

[6] Stokes exhibited her work at the Palace of Fine Arts at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

[citation needed] Stokes abandoned oils, inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and prompted by the translation work of Christiana Herringham.