Hale was an Impressionist painter, best known for her figure paintings, including many portraits and self-portraits. She made sophisticated, aesthetic paintings with good command of light, shadow and technical skill. She exhibited at the Boston Art Club in 1876. In Europe, she lived in London and Paris, where she exhibited at Paris Salon in 1885 her paintings "An Old Retainer" and "Un Hiver Americain". In London's Royal Academy of Arts, she exhibited "A New England Girl". In the United States she lived in Boston, and her work is associated with the Boston School. She made increasingly Impressionistic paintings, but like "many of her Boston colleagues, she did not compromise her dedication to painting the human form." Hale was very active in exhibiting her work, but only achieved marginal recognition of her art.