Emily Cole (1843-1913) was a professional artist and the daughter of Thomas Cole and Maria Bartow. She used Thomas Cole’s New Studio as her studio and exhibition space, and was well known for her paintings of flora on paper and porcelain. Most of her painted blooms were flowers local to Catskill, ones she could observe firsthand, from spring through fall, by simply stepping outside her front door. Referred to as “Catskill China Painter,” Emily Cole connected with collectors and patrons in the Hudson Valley, Brooklyn, and beyond, who purchased her work, and she even served as a charter member of the New York Society of Ceramic Arts, founded in 1892 with the objective to promote the appreciation of ceramic arts.

Excerpt from ““Catskill China Painter” The Art of Emily Cole” by Amanda Malmstrom from The Art of Emily Cole:  

“Emily Cole, the third child of Maria Bartow Cole (1813–1884) and Thomas Cole (1801–1848), was a lifelong resident of the family’s Cedar Grove property in Catskill, New York, and an active artist for over fifty years.[1] She created a striking body of work consisting of watercolor-on-paper botanicals and porcelain objects adorned with gold luster and colorful enamel paintings of flowers. Emily was an industrious artist, producing hundreds, if not thousands, of works of painted porcelain during her career. Today, Emily’s artworks within the Thomas Cole Site’s collections outnumber holdings by any other artist, including Thomas, the museum’s namesake and influential nineteenth-century American landscape painter.  

An involved member of her Catskill community, Emily, at different points in her life, served as a preparatory school (kindergarten) teacher at the Catskill Academy and Union Free School, a Sunday school teacher at Saint Luke’s Church (the same Episcopalian congregation to which her parents belonged and for which Thomas Cole designed a church building), a member of and donor to Saint Luke’s Ladies Aid Society, and an appointed member of the Catskill Village Improvement Society.[2] Fellow Catskill residents may have also remembered the multiple awards Emily received, not surprisingly, for “Best and Largest Variety of Rare Flowers” at the annual fair organized by the Catskill Agriculture and Horticulture Association.[3]

Ultimately, Emily, who as a child was called “Miss Periwinkle” by her artist father, became most well known during her lifetime as “Catskill China Painter.”[4] Emily was hardworking and savvy when it came to the business of art and establishing her reputation as a professional artist. She sought out high-quality materials, organized exhibitions of her work at her Catskill studio, and participated in group exhibitions in New York City. She connected with collectors and patrons in the Hudson Valley, Brooklyn, and beyond, who purchased her work, and she even served as a charter member of the New York Society of Ceramic Arts, founded in 1892 with the objective to promote the appreciation of ceramic arts.”

Footnotes

[1] NOTE: Throughout this essay, I often refer to Emily Cole by first name only. I do this to acknowledge and honor the artist’s distinct contributions to the field of American art. Aware of the harmful ways in which women, through history and still today, are denied the respect and honorifics that male colleagues enjoy, I do not intend to diminish Emily’s achievements. Instead, I refer to the artist as “Emily” to distinguish her accomplishments from those of her extensively researched father, who is widely referred to as simply “Cole.” 

[2] “Festival and Loan Exhibition,” Catskill (NY) Recorder, September 10, 1880; “Star Role: Catskill Academy and Union Free School,” Catskill Recorder, May 4, 1894; “Easter Celebrations,” Catskill Recorder, April 14, 1882. 

[3] “List of Premiums: Awarded at the Annual Fair of the Catskill A. & H. Association, held Sept. 20, 21, and 22, 1871,” Catskill (NY) Recorder, September 29, 1871.  

[4] “Miss Emily Cole, Catskill China Painter, Dead,” unidentified news clipping, Thomas Cole National Historic Site Archives, Catskill, NY.