Dabis was born on the island of Rügen in Germany, where her father was a pastor.[1] After her parents died at an early age, Dabis was raised by relatives before moving to England around 1881 to take a teaching post.[1] She enrolled in the National Art Training School in South Kensington where she was taught sculpture by Édouard Lantéri and won a silver medal in the 1885 National Competition.[1]
Dabis began to produce medals, busts, heads and statuettes, often in bronze and between 1888 and 1895 she exhibited ten works at the Royal Academy in London.[2][3] She supported the suffragette movement and in 1889 she signed the Declaration in Favour of Women's Suffrage.[1] After living in London for many years, Dabis moved to Southfleet in Kent.[2] King's College London holds her bronzed plaster bust of Frida Mond.[1]
