Born in Chicago and raised in Colorado, Ethel and her sister Jenne, studied with Boardman Robinson, Peppino Mangravite and Frank Mechau at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center from 1938 to 1940. Mechau introduced mural painting to Ethel and soon recognized her talent by making her his assistant. Ethel had her first one-person show in New York at the Contemporary Arts Gallery in 1940, but remained in California with her sister until 1945. At that time, Doris Lee and Arnold Blanch lured the two sisters to Woodstock where they settled permanently.