Emma Richardson Cherry

Emma Richardson Cherry (February 28, 1859 – October 29, 1954) was an American artist known for her paintings of landscapes, still lifes and portraits.

Early life Emma Richardson was born in Aurora, Illinois on February 28, 1859 to James Perkins and Frances Ann (Mostow) Richardson.

Career Richardson was a co-founder of the Kansas City Art Association and School of Design, after moving to the city and establishing an art studio in 1885. She was living in Nebraska when she met Dillon Brook Cherry, whom she married. In 1888, she began a two-year tour of Europe in order to study art. She was a student of Académie Julian in Paris and of the Art Students League of New York periodically from 1879 to 1885. She studied with William Merritt Chase at his Shinnecock School of Art in 1896. She was a member of the Denver Art Club as well as the Western Art Association, from which she received a gold medal in 1891.

By the 1890s, Cherry and her husband relocated to Houston, where she found the former downtown home of ex-Houston-mogul, William Marsh Rice. She acquired the house and moved it to Fargo Street in the Montrose area. She was an organizer of the Houston Art League, which was founded in 1900, and later formed the basis for Houston's first art museum.

Death and legacy Cherry died on October 29, 1954.