Born in Vancouver in 1922, Molly Lamb Bobak's father was Harold Mortimer-Lamb, who was an important figure in Vancouver's burgeoning art scene of the 1920s. She studied at the Vancouver School of Art from 1938 to 1942 where she befriended Jack Shadbolt who became her lifelong mentor. She went on to serve in the Canadian Women's Army Corps, becoming the official first Canadian female war artist. There she met her husband, Bruno Bobak. The two moved back to Vancouver following the war where Molly taught at the Vancouver School of Art from 1947 to 1950.