Jessie Arms Botke is best known as a California landscape painter, etcher, and woodblock printer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she completed her studies at the Chicago Art Institute,where she became a pupil of John Johanson. She traveled to Europe to further her artistic training. In 1911 Botke moved to New York City where she worked at Herter Looms until 1915, creating tapestries. She also worked on a mural depicting birds for the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California -- a motif that would reoccur throughout her career. Upon returning to Chicago, she met a fellow artist named Cornelius Botke, who she would marry. The two artists moved to Carmel, California where they collaborated on commissioned paintings and murals. Both artists became well-regarded painters of their time. In the 1920s they bought a ranch near Santa Barbara in Santa Paula, California. Jessie Arms Botke painted landscapes, seascapes, and made prints. She is best known for her gold-leaf paintings of exotic birds. Botke’s produced an exceptional body of work and is acknowledged by the fine art community as an important American painter and printmaker. Botke exhibited throughout her career including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and other renowned institutions. Her paintings and prints are held in both public and private collections, including the University of Chicago, Oakland Museum of California, San Diego Museum of Art, and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.