Lydia Field Emmet - Career

Career

One of Emmet's first artistic achievements came in 1883, at the age of sixteen, when she was commissioned to illustrate Henrietta Christian Wright's children's book Little Folk in Green.

In order to supplement her income, Emmet worked during the early 1890s as the assistant of her former instructor, William Merritt Chase, teaching preparatory classes at his summer school at Shinnecock Hills, on Long Island, New York.

In 1893, Emmet was selected, along with prominent women American artists such as Mary Cassatt, Mary MacMonnies-Low, Lucia Fairchild Fuller and her sister, Rosina (Emmet) Sherwood, to paint murals in the newly constructed Women's Building at the World's Columbian Exposition. Emmet's contributions included a painting entitled Seal of the New York State Board and a mural entitled Art, Literature and Imagination.

Emmet later designed stained glass windows for Louis Comfort Tiffany and was a prolific illustrator for Harper's Bazaar magazine. She also received commissions from the Associated Artists, and a commission from President Herbert Hoover to paint an official portrait of the First Lady, Lou Henry Hoover, which now hangs in the White House.

Though best known for her portraits of children, Emmet preferred to paint adult sitters, as she did not consider child portraits to be especially challenging work. One of Emmet's most famous portraits is that of her young nephew, playwright Robert Emmet Sherwood.

Emmet exhibited her work frequently at the National Academy of Design, and participated in several major international expositions. She was the recipient of prizes at the World's Columbian Exposition (1893), the Atlanta Exposition (1895), the Pan-American Exhibition (1901), the St. Louis Exhibition (1904) and the Carnegie International Exhibition (1912). Emmet was also awarded the Thomas R. Proctor Prize (1907) and the Maynard Prize (1918) from the National Academy of Design; the Newport popular prize (1921, 1923); and the Philadelphia Bok prize (1925). Emmet was made an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1909 and in 1911 was promoted to Academician at the academy.