Gertrude Stanton was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on 18th May, 1852. She married Eduard Kaesbier, a German immigrant and successful businessman, in 1874.

After studying at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn she opened her own photographer studio in Manhattan in 1897. Alfred Stieglitz organised her first solo exhibition at the Camera Club in 1899.

In 1902 Kaesbier joined with Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Alvin Langdon Coburn, and Clarence White to form the Photosecession Group. Her work was featured in the first edition of Camera Work in 1903. Gertrude Kasebier died in New York City in 1934.