In the 1891 Census for Halsetown, just outside St Ives, a Mary Lovett Cameron is listed as living at North Terrace (back of), the single head of household, aged 42, an author, born Wavertree, Lancashire. (The artist had arrived in St Ives from Ireland by 1891, a great deal longer an established resident than suspected previously.)

She rented a studio and wrote articles about art, and in 1913 was the author of Umbria, Past & Present.  In the summers she sailed to Brittany with the fishermen and rented a studio for the season. Having joined the Arts Club in St Ives, she was successful in getting some recognition for women artists: the rules were amended to provide the exclusive use for ladies on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. In 1918 she was elected the Librarian of the Club, the first woman to hold that office.  Mary Lovett CAMERON is one of the signatories of the Glanville Letter (1898).