Known primarily for her pioneering work as a studio potter, Klytie Pate also trained as a sculptor, first privately with Ola Cohn, before attending the National Gallery School and Melbourne Technical College (now RMIT University) during the 1930s. She became renowned for her experimental glazes and pierced and carved pots.
As a child Pate lived with her aunt and uncle, artists Christian and Napier Waller, where she developed a love of theosophy and mythology; an interest which underpins much of her work. Pate and Alan Lowe were the first ceramicists to have their work acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria.