She studied at the Maryland Institute, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Palace School of Art in Paris and Syracuse University. At various times she studied with Cecilia Beaux, Emil Carlsen, Daniel Garber, Violet Oakley, and Robert Vonnoh.
While studying in Paris she painted frescos at the Fontainebleau Palace and the Hospital of Saint Vincent de Paul, also in Fontainebleau. During the Depression years Bessemer painted a post office mural in Kaufman, Texas, entitled Driving the Steers, which was later "covered over" or "destroyed".
