In 1912, she went to France to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière with Lucien Simon and Émile-René Ménard (1862–1930). But her real inspiration was the artist Frédéric Fiebig and though she experimented at first with a wide range of Post-Impressionist styles, she began to work in a style that reflected his influence, involving the use of the palette knife and with a heavier application of paint. That year, she showed her new work at the Salon des Beaux Arts.