E. Charlton Fortune Gallery

Returning to California, she moved back to San Francisco with her mother and brother, and Effie studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute with Arthur Mathews, whom she admired for his emphasis on beauty and dignity in painting.  She became very much a part of the local art scene and fraternized with many men who became well known artists including Armin Hansen, Maynard Dixon, and Maurice Logan.

She and her family suffered severe property devastation in the earthquake of 1906, and all of her work to that point was lost.  Afterward, she and her family moved to New York City, where she studied at the Art Student's League.  Her favorite teacher was Frank Vincent DuMond, who emphasized using one's own style to express oneself clearly.  Another favorite was Luis Mora, a brilliant painter and illustrator from South America, who saw to it that she had the qualities of a good illustrator.

She painted at Woodstock in the Catskill Mountains at the invitation of Spencer Trask, and at Lake George with Frank DuMond and other students and was much accepted by the respected professional artists.  She was elected women's vice-president of the Art Students' League and also did a few illustrations for Harper's magazine.

Gradually she began to develop a unique style of skillfully using light, movement, and continuous lines to achieve her own aesthetic expression.

In 1910, she and her mother returned to San Francisco where Luis Mora had used his influence to get Effie a job illustrating for Sunset Magazine, but first she visited family in Scotland and toured Paris to see firsthand the 19th century French masters. She became immersed in the modernist movements of Impressionism and Cubism, etc., but was more convinced than ever that the style she was calling her own was best for her.  She returned to San Francisco with over forty paintings accomplished. There she also did many portraits, and was especially skillful at depicting children.