Originally from Rotherham in Yorkshire, England, Kate Smith Hoole received most of her art training in London, studying at the Calderon School of Animal Painting. Before coming to Canada she exhibited in England including at the Society of Women Artists, London and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Hoole arrived in Vancouver and immediately began exhibiting with the BCSFA in 1912. She showed two paintings at the Royal Canadian Academy in 1921 as well as the Seattle Art Museum in 1930 and 1931. She taught at Crofton House School for nine years before becoming a founding instructor in drawing and painting at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts in 1925. Hoole taught there for eight years. Alongside colleagues such as Frederick Varley, Jock Macdonald, and Charles H. Scott, she laid the groundwork for a generation of artists who would go on to transform British Columbia’s cultural landscape. Though less widely celebrated than some of her contemporaries, her role as one of the school’s first instructors helped build a lasting art institution in Vancouver. She had a string of solo shows at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1934, 1936 and 1941, as well as a group show with Mabel Bain and Beatrice Lennie in 1942. Over the course of her career, Hoole developed a reputation as one of the foremost painters of animals in Canada.

The Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts (VSDAA) opened on October 1, 1925, marking the beginning of formalized art education in the city. Founded through the efforts of the British Columbia Society of Fine Arts, the school was a response to Vancouver’s rapid growth and the need for cultural institutions. Under its first director, Charles H. Scott, and with prominent faculty including Jock Macdonald and Fred Varley, the VSDAA quickly became a centre of artistic activity. A vibrant social and intellectual community grew around the school, supported by figures such as John Vanderpant and Harold Mortimer Lamb. In 1933 the school was renamed the Vancouver School of Art, and over the decades it continued to expand, eventually becoming Emily Carr University of Art + Design. In 2025 the institution celebrates its centenary, a testament to its enduring role in shaping the cultural landscape of Vancouver and beyond.