Emily Cole (1843–1913)
Untitled (goldenrod and morning glories), 1877
Watercolor and pencil on paper, 12½ × 9 in.
Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Gift of Edith Cole Silberstein, TC.2002.2.19.44

Emily Cole created an extensive oeuvre of botanical painting, which includes over one hundred watercolors on paper and painted porcelain objects that now reside in the collection of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. Sharing her father’s deep commitment to careful observation of nature, Emily featured botanical specimens in her work that she likely found in her backyard in Catskill and in the surrounding landscape. One nineteenth-century newspaper review of Emily’s work states: “Her technique is admirable, and her careful studies from nature leave nothing to be desired in the way of truth.”

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Brooke KrancerUntitled (Botanical watercolor of goldenrod and morning glories)