In California he studied with Amédée Joullin.[1]
In 1898, he moved back to New York and began his career as a newspaper and magazine illustrator,[2] working for the San Francisco Call and the San Francisco Examiner, drawing sketches and decorative work.[1] He became known particularly for his drawings of women, which won him acclaim as the successor of Charles Dana Gibson.[2] Together with fellow artists Howard Chandler Christy and Neysa McMein, he constituted the Motion Picture Classic magazine's, "Fame and Fortune" contest jury of 1921/1922, who discovered the It-girl, Clara Bow.[3] Fisher's work appeared regularly on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine from the early 1900s until his death.
He also painted for books; his work included the cover for George Barr McCutcheon's Beverly of Graustark, and illustrations for Harold Frederic's The Market Place and Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men on Wheels.[1]