[1] Underhill's higher education included attendance at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, where she attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960.
Following this she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, attaining a Master of Philosophy degree in 1962, the subject of which was Romanesque Churches in Oxfordshire.
[2][1] Underhill arrived in Australia in 1963 to work as a lecturer and tutor in the Department of History at the University of Queensland.
The talk included film of the cathedral and discussion of the works of Graham Sutherland, Jacob Epstein and John Piper.
In her Masters thesis submitted in 1989 the author, Helen Fridemanis, asserts that Underhill was not afraid to challenge critics who suggested that Brisbane was on the "periphery of culture" in the 1960s.
[6] The Art Museum continues to feature in the cultural life of students and the general public with regular exhibitions.
[13] In 2013 Underhill was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University for "her achievement and service within the Australian and international visual arts community.
[14] Underhill, Nancy (1992) Making Australian Art 1916-46: Sidney Ure Smith - Patron and Publisher, Oxford University Press, Australia.
38 (1), 2000, 98-104[14] Fennessy, Kathleen, Taylor Alex; Stephen, Ann; McNamara, Philip; Goad, Andrew; Carter Nannette; Smith, Bernard; Hoorn, Janet and Underhill, Nancy, Sweeping Across Art History from Australia.