Nell Brooker Mayhew (April 17, 1875 – September 24, 1940) was an American painter, etcher and art instructor.
[4] When she was sixteen, one of her paintings was accepted for the Art Institute of Chicago's Annual Exhibition of Watercolors by American Artists.
[6]: 68 While studying at the University of Illinois, Mayhew developed the color etching process with which she is so closely identified.
[9] Seeking a fresh start after the death of her first husband and having completed training at the Art Institute of Chicago, Mayhew moved to Los Angeles in 1908 and began exhibiting.
While the California Mission series subject matter was architectural, Mayhew took note of the landscape as she drove from the south to the north of the state.
[4] Mayhew advocated for the value of beauty in one's life, writing an article in California Southland and a letter to the editor in the Los Angeles Times.