Born in Solihull, England, to Scottish parents, Pope's family moved to rural Aberdeenshire when she was still a young child. Her father was a businessman and keen art collector, from whom she inherited a number of significant works such as one of Samuel Peploe's Iona paintings.

Pope attended Albyn School in Aberdeen, and then commenced study at Edinburgh College of Art in 1936. Her studies were interrupted by World War II, during which time she served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. In 1946 Pope resumed her studies at Edinburgh College of Art, then undertook teacher training at Moray House. Pope held several teaching posts in primary and private schools, including Lansdowne House in Edinburgh and the role of art mistress at  Oxenfoord Castle School, Midlothian. Pope took up a post as art lecturer at Moray House in the mid-1960s, which she held until her early retirement in 1973.

Upon retirement from teaching, Pope concentrated on painting at her home, Weaver's Cottage in Carlops. She is linked to the Edinburgh School of artists,having studied under Sir William Gilles at Edinburgh College of Art and formed friendships with fellow artists such as Joan Eardley. Like many artists of the Edinburgh School, Pope worked in both oil and watercolour. She primarily painted still life and landscapes. Her work was heavily inspired by the Aberdeenshire landscapes of her youth, but she also traveled frequently both within Scotland and Europe, notably Cyprus, Lebanon, the Peloponnese and Spain, looking for inspiration. Pope exhibited at the Royal Academy, with the Royal Scottish Academy and had a series of solo shows at The Scottish Gallery between 1956 and 1982 and then at the Macaulay Gallery.

Explaining her intentions in painting the Scottish landscape, Pope said in 2008, "I have tried to paint the intense pleasure I get from being in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. I don't want to paint views particularly, it's more the feeling of freedom - the changing light, the subtle colour of the countryside, the sand blown by the wind, the wild flowers, the machair and the sand dunes and always the feeling of space and air".