In 1930 Ola Cohn was the first person to present a sculpture exhibition, reflecting European and British contemporary sculptural trends. This exhibition completely baffled the critics. However she had studied in London where her work was commended by the major sculptor Henry Moore. 

Many of her 1930s works were on a monumental scale, directly carved into rock, with minimal assistance from other hands. Her ability as a carver is shown in this whimsical work. 

Not only is the Fairies Tree her gift to the children of Melbourne, and the young at heart, but it reflects her mystic belief in the importance of spirits of place and the unseen world. This was carved into and existing redgum tree.

These beliefs were as important to Cohn, as her interest in modernism. After the hostile response to her work in the 1930s, she increasingly favoured the fantasy side of her art. 

She  was President  of the Melbourne Society of Womens Painters and Sculptors  from  1948 to 1964 and they have used her former home for artist purposes in Gipps Street, East Melbourne for about the last 50 years.