The Lacis family moved to the comparative security of the Latvian countryside at the outbreak of World War II. There Astra Lacis developed a love of animals and nature, both of which are reflected in her artwork for children's books. The family moved to Germany in 1944, then Danzig, Czechoslovakia and finally Munich when the liberating US Army arrived. As a displaced person, she moved to various camps with her family before emigrating to Australia in 1949 where they lived in a refugee camp at Bathurst for three years.
Lacis was able to complete her secondary education in Sydney after the family moved there in 1952. She graduated from East Sydney Technical College with an Honours Diploma in Illustration. During her fourth year as a student, she began illustrating for the NSW School Magazine.
Lacis has been a freelance artist since 1963. Her children's book work includes dust jackets for children's novels and the artwork for picture books.
