Schweitzer studied at Pratt Institute, the National Academy of Design (1928-29) and the Academie Julien in Paris.
Schweitzer's watercolors have always been well-received by the public. Her favorite early subject was ballet dancers, as she herself once danced in the chorus of the ballet of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She often treats female subjects, but also works in landscape. She paints with broad areas of delicate transparent washes, highlighted with pencil. There are no clean edges, and bright colors are used throughout. She does detailed drawings in preparation for her watercolors, but the watercolors themselves are executed rapidly. Her work is moody and evocative, with an etherial dream-like quality to it that borders on the abstract and is always happy and optimistic.
Schweitzer paints abroad during the summers and spends her winters in Palm Beach. During World War II she served as chairman of the Arts and Skills Corp at the Fort Jay Regional Hospital, Governor's Island, New York.
Schweitzer was proposed to the NAD by Eliot O'Hara. Her watercolor "Girl in White Chair" was accepted by the Academy to fulfill her qualifications as Academician. In 1987 she and her husband established the William P. and Gertrude Schweitzer Prize for an outstanding watercolor at the Annual Exhibition of the NAD.
