She was born Rue Winterbotham, the daughter of Joseph Humphrey Winterbotham (1852–1925), a Chicago manufacturer, bank director, Chicago Art Institute benefactor and Michigan state senator,[1] and his wife Genevieve Winterbotham, née Baldwin (1853–1906).
[3] Carpenter was one of the founders of the Arts Club of Chicago in 1916 and was its president from 1918 until her death in 1931.
[2] Her niece Rue Winterbotham Shaw became president in 1940.
[4][3] In 1929, they lived at 942 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.
Carpenter's 1920 portrait, which was painted by Arthur Ambrose McEvoy, is held in the Art Institute of Chicago.