Dawson was born in Castleton in Rochdale and, after a private school education, she attended Heatherley's School of Art from 1936 to 1939.[2][3] After graduation, Dawson worked as a commercial artist for a number of different clients.[4] She created fabric designs for both the Liberty department store in London and for the Courtaulds textile company, as well as greeting cards for Raphael Tuck & Sons and also book jackets.[4] As a painter Dawson produced watercolours of British historic buildings including castles and windmills and also of British birds and wildlife.[4] She had solo exhibitions at Colwyn Bay in 1947 and 1954, in Trinidad in 1954, in Kenya 1963 and at Bourne Hall in Epsom in 1974.[4] Dawson's work was also exhibited at the Royal Institution and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.[4] She was elected an associate member of the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1943.[2][5] Three years later she was elected a full member of the academy.[3] In 1952 she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[2]
From the early 1950s, Dawson was active in the Society of Women Artists, being elected an associate member in 1953 and a full member in 1955.[3] She served as the Society's president from 1982 to 1985.[2]
