Emma Roberts (artist)
(Mary) Emma Roberts | |
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Born | 1859 |
Died | 1948 (aged 88–89) |
Known for | Arts and crafts movement |
Mary Emma Roberts (1859–1948) was an American artist and visual arts educator who worked primarily in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She produced
Early life and education
Roberts was born in Germantown, Philadelphia in 1859. She had two brothers, Thomas Sadler Roberts and John Walter. Her father, John Sadler Roberts, was a successful real estate businessman; when she was 7, he relocated the family to Minnesota due to poor health from tuberculosis. With Quaker ancestors both Emma and Thomas Roberts grew to love nature. Emma grew interested in the wildflowers along roadsides, in the woods, and in prairies.[1] Her interest is later shown in the botanical watercolor paintings of those plants. As children, the Roberts siblings attended Jefferson School in Minneapolis. While attending Jefferson School, Roberts made a lifelong friendship with Jane “Jennie” Lyon Cleveland as well as Joseph and Susan Kingman.[1][2] The friendship with Joseph and Susan Kingman was beneficial for Roberts later in life when she needed funding for the Handicraft Guild.[3] Roberts was later sent to live with relatives in Maryland and Philadelphia for "finishing" to be exposed to music, the arts and upper class society.[4][5][1] It is unknown whether she completed high school before being sent to "finishing" school.[1]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Emma_Roberts_Nelumbo_Great_Yellow_1885.jpg/220px-Emma_Roberts_Nelumbo_Great_Yellow_1885.jpg)
In 1881, after returning from one of her trips to the east coast, she began to study art in Minneapolis. She became particularly interested in watercolor painting and specifically produced works showing wildflowers and plants. After her father died in 1890, she relocated with her mother and several friends to
In the late 1890s, Roberts began working in visual arts education and became the assistant director of drawing for the Minneapolis Public Schools. In 1904, she took over as the director of drawing. She developed a program in collaboration with the Minneapolis Institute of Art where students visited the museum on study tours. She wrote a number of instructional works including Drawing and Handwork: Outlines and Suggestions (1913), Pencil and Brush: Art in the Minneapolis Schools (1916) and a series of short pamphlets called Picture Studies. She also developed an entirely new curriculum around art appreciation.[5][1]
In 1904, she cofounded the city's Handicraft Guild along with Florence Willets and local printmaker
Gallery of selected works
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Easter Lily, Easter 1885
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Anaphalis margaritacea, Benth. & Hook. (Pearly Everlasting), August 16, 1885
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Calystegia sepium, R. Br. (Hedge Bindweed), July 13, 1883
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Campanula Americana, L. (Tall Bellflower), August 11, 1885
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Lobelia cardinalis, L. (Cardinal Flower), August 11, 1885
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Tofieldia glutinosa, Willd. (False Asphodel), June 1884
Later life and death
In 1919, the Handicraft Guild was absorbed into the University of Minnesota's art education department in a mutual agreement. Roberts stepped down from her position with the Minneapolis Public Schools a year later, but continued to occasionally teach as an instructor at the university. Later in life she spent her time traveling and with her family and friends. She died in 1948 in Los Angeles and is buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.[4][1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Leaf, Sue (2013). "A Tale of Two Siblings". Minnesota History: 236–244.
- ISBN 9780816675654.
- ^ "Handicraft Guild Addition, 1004 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota - Placeography". www.placeography.org. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ^ a b Leaf, Sue (2014). "Art for Life's Sake: the Life of Emma Roberts". Small Home Gazette.
- ^ a b Conforti, Michael, ed. (1994). Minnesota 1900: Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi, 1890-1915. University of Delaware Press. p. 164.