Suffering from poor health as a teenager, Heath’s parents withdrew her from public high school but encouraged her to study art locally at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. She also trained privately with an impressive roster of artists including William Merritt Chase, Arthur Dove and Robert Henri. Heath’s first big commission was to paint the portraits of William H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson based on photographs. Moving back and forth between East and West coasts from 1900 to 1928, she ultimately settled in Carmel-by-the-Sea where she joined CAA and developed her idiosyncratic marine painting career. While serving as Treasurer on CAA’s Board of Directors during its critical first decade, Heath asked investment banker Barnet Segal to help her locate a studio space for herself. When Heath was shown the former studio of CAA artist Ira Remsen—a small house now called the Beardsley Gallery—she concluded that it was too big for herself and proposed that CAA purchase it as their permanent home. Heeding her suggestion, Segal bought the house himself for $5,500 in 1933. Then he generously loaned it to the CAA with the understanding that the Association would pay him back. Together Heath and Segal devised a plan for CAA to incorporate as a non-profit and repay the debt by asking Artist Members to contribute artworks to benefit raffles. They also approached supporters who might be interested in a $100 Lifetime Associate Membership. Fundraisers were organized for another decade until the Association until Segal was fully reimbursed and a ceremony was held to burn the mortgage in 1945.