[2] Harley studied at Chelsea Polytechnic, where she was taught by Graham Sutherland, and then attended the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing under Cedric Morris.

[3] She completed a set of murals for Dorland Hall, the then headquarters of British European Airways in Regent Street in central London.

[3] During her artistic career Harley exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, with the New English Art Club, the London Group and with the Society of Women Artists.

[3][1] In 1936 Harley married Lt-Col John Alfred Codrington (1898–1991) a career soldier who had a lifelong interest in plants.

Harley died on 22 April 1978 at her home in Chelsea.