Dorothy Bruce was born in Wisconsin, gaining her Bachelor of Art in Fine Art from the Minneapolis School of Art, now the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She travelled extensively in the States and Australia, participating in Group Shows, before holding a one-woman exhibition in Brisbane, Australia. She has lived and worked in Scotland for over 25 years painting the landscapes and coastal scenes that are so distinctive
to this country. The continually changing light and the austerity of much of the Northern Highlands are recurring themes in much of her work. During these years her work has been seen at one-woman shows on the West Coast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Group Exhibitions throughout Scotland and England, including the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour.