Emma Roberts

Mary Emma Roberts (1859–1948) was an American artist and visual arts educator who worked primarily in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She produced watercolor paintings of plants and flowers, was one of the cofounders of the city's Handicraft Guild and also worked as an arts educator in the Minneapolis Public Schools. 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. 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. The friendship with Joseph and Susan Kingman was beneficial for Roberts later in life when she needed funding for the Handicraft Guild. 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. It is unknown whether she completed high school before being sent to "finishing" school. Career 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 New York City. While there, she continued to study watercolor painting under Rhoda Holmes Nicholls and also became active with the Art Students League of New York. Roberts' works were shown at different museums in New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland. In 1893, her work was selected to be displayed in Minnesota's building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After her successful exhibition there, she formed her own studio with her friend Florence Wales and continued to study under Irving Ramsey Wiles and Childe Hassam. In 1897, she produced a watercolor of chrysanthemums titled In November.