Zelda Glanville was born in the northeast of England and studied at West Hartlepool School of Art where the discipline of drawing from observation formed the keystone of development in painting and lithography. This small art school spawned diverse creative talents which at this period included the future film director Ridley Scott and Olwyn Bowey R.A.

Zelda continued her studies at Goldsmiths College, London gaining an Art Teacher’s Diploma. After graduation she taught at Epsom School of Art for eleven years. This was followed by a role in the establishment of the “One Off” department at Liberty of London created by the chairman Arthur Stuart Liberty. It marked the centenary of the store’s foundation as the retail outlet of the Arts & Crafts movement. Through this association she made personal contact with the renowned potter Lucie Rie.

In Zelda’s paintings her search was inspired by relationship of colours and their mutual influence. Although for a long time her work was based on the ground of observational drawing, her later work was not representational in order to allow pure colour work to emerge.