Born in East Orange, New Jersey, Margaret Brassler Kane studied at Syracuse University, the Art Students League in New York City, and also with sculptor John Hovannes. During the 1940s she was the recipient of several prizes for her work.

Self-taught embroiderer Mariska Karasz arrived in the United States from her native Hungary at the age of sixteen. The influence of Hungary's rich folk-art tradition is reflected in her early work.

Gertrude Käsebier began her artistic studies at the age of thirty-seven after her children had grown up. While studying painting at Pratt Institute in New York, she began to explore photography.