Born in Brookville, Indiana on January 7, 1889, Bessie Wessel moved to Cincinnati as a youngster. She received encouragement to pursue a career in art from her father, a school teacher. In 1906, she enrolled in the Cincinnati Art Academy, first studying with Lewis Henry Meakin and then Herman Wessel. Frank Duveneck invited her to join his classes, which she attended from 1909 to 1915. She became a frequent exhibitor of her portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and miniatures which she painted on ivory.

From 1917 to 1919, she was President of the Women's Art Club. In 1915, she joined the faculty of the Art Academy, but worked so hard she became overly tired and resigned two years later. How...