Louise Rogers Jewett was born in 1859. She and her three siblings were orphaned while young, and were raised in Buffalo by guardians. In 1886 her uncle paid for her to study art in Paris. She returned to the United States in 1888, but felt more study in Europe was necessary. She spent the spring of 1890 in Paris, and part of 1892 in Italy. In 1894, Jewett opened a studio in Boston, where she was close to her sister Sophie who taught at Wellesley College. In 1901, she began teaching at Mount Holyoke College, where she remained until her death on January 21, 1914, in South Hadley.