In the late 1920's and early 30's Lee studied with Andre L'Hote in Paris, Ernest Lawson at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri and Arnold Blanch, a visiting instructor from Woodstock, at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Lee came to Woodstock in 1931 to paint for the summer and remained there until 1968. Lee's work was typically light-hearted and optimistic, a mood that was heightened by her decorative use of bright colors and flattened forms. Phantom Gulch, most likely painted when Lee was a visiting artsit during the summers from 1936 to 1939 at the Colorado Springs Art Center, exhibits these qualities: the flattened craggy brown mountains spotted with brightly colored houses creates a decorative surface that evokes playfulness and fantasy.