Mary Ellen Hillhouse, better known as May, was born in the Winelands in the Cape Province. She studied painting under Prof. John Oxley at the Natal Technical College between 1921 and 1926 and under Martin Bloch in London between 1938 and 1938. Martin Bloch's colour-science research had a lasting influence on her approach to painting. May Hillhouse earned her living as a commercial artist and book