Prellwitz was born in South Orange, New Jersey to a socially prominent family. Her father was a prominent businessman and her mother was the daughter of Almet Reed, one of the founders of the New York Central Railroad. By 20 years of age, she was well-versed in philosophy and knew French and German. Between 1889 and 1891, she briefly attended the Académie Julian where she studied with William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury. Prellwitz returned to New York in 1891 and over the course of the next decade achieved notoriety for her ethereal figure compositions based on literary subjects. In her self-portrait of 1909, Prellwitz looks out at the viewer with a strong sense of determination and confidence. Her sleeves are rolled up to her elbows and her palette and brushes are at the ready on the table beside her. The art historian Ronald G. Pisano remarked that Prellwitz