Painter, lithographer, and etcher Isabel Percy West was born in Alameda, California. George W. Percy, the prominent architect who designed the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park was Isabel's father. 

She studied art at Mark Hopkins Institute with Brangwyn in London, and with Arthur Wesley Dow in New York. She earned her M.A. degree from Columbia University in 1907 and then returned to California. She was a cofounder of the College of Arts and Crafts in Berkeley, California. West taught at C.C.A.C. until her retirement in 1941, and continue to paint in her own studio throughout her life.

She was a member of the San Francisco Sketch Club, California Society of Etchers, and San Francisco Art Association. She received honorable mention at the Paris Salon, 1911; bronze medal, Pan Pacific International Exhibition, 1915.