Born in South Orange, New Jersey, Edith Mitchill Prellwitz earned a reputation as a skilled artist who continued her career after she married artist Henry Prellwitz at a time when women were expected to submerge their careers to their husband's. The couple shared joint exhibitions including at the Charcoal Club in Baltimore, 1899; and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Prellwitz was born in 1864, a year verified by her diary, although 1865 is the year traditionally given for her birth.

Her first trip to Europe had been in 1882 when she studied informally in Germany, Italy, Paris, and London. Firmed in her resolve to become an artist, in 1883, Edith wrote in her diary, "I am a woman of 'aspiration,' with s...