Sylvia Hahn was born May 2, 1911 in Toronto, Ontario. She was the daughter of Gustav Hahn and Ellen Smith. Hahn attended Havergal College and later graduated from the Ontario College of Art (1929-1932). She was awarded the Governor General’s Medal for achievement at her graduation.
In 1934 she joined the Royal Ontario Museum’s Display Department. During her time at the ROM Sylvia Hahn made identification drawings for the museum's catalogue, 11 murals, models of jewels in the museum's collection (which were sold in the gift shop), a reproduction of a mural originally on the walls of an Etruscan tomb (for which she attempted to capture the original colours before air and moisture faded them), and the decoration of the Athens Gallery (including detail work on a model of the Acropolis). Sylvia Hahn retired from the ROM in 1976.
Sylvia Hahn was a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, The Society of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers, and the Toronto Metal Crafts Guild.
She is represented in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada (no. 5118, no. 40451).
Sylvia Hahn died on January 2, 2001 in Whitby Ontario.