The family was respectable and well to do, with a town house in Moray Place, Edinburgh, and a holiday home in the Highlands.

Although women could study up to a certain level at the Board of Trustees school, they were not admitted to RSA classes and were forced to continue their education independently.

[1][2] Supportive of her ambitions as a sculptor, in 1897 Wallace's family provided an allowance enabling her to further her studies in the progressive art schools of Paris.

At the turn of the century, Paris was an acknowledged cultural capital with a thriving avant-garde arts scene.

She also attended anatomy classes at the École des Beaux-Arts, which was admitting women students for the first time.