Jeannette Maxfield Lewis was born in Oakland and studied at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, privately in New York City, and with Armin Hansen in Monterey. She exhibited at the Argent Gallery, NYC, Palace of the Legion of Honor and the De Young Museum in San Francisco, and Stockton, San Jose and Fresno as well as the Monterey Peninsula.She was a member of American Society of Graphic Artists, California Society of Etchers, American Federation of Arts and Society of Western Artists among many other and is listed in "Who's Who in American Art." Although in later years, Lewis became best known for her graphics, much of her career had been devoted to oil painting, depicting scenes from her travels and the California landscape. Juried into the CAA in 1948.