Emily Cole (1843–1913)
Hand-painted Tea Pot, Cups and Saucers, Cream Pitcher, and Sugar Bowl, ca. 1900
Painted porcelain, various sizes
Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Gift of Edith Cole Silberstein, TC.2002.2.1.1, TC.2002.2.1.7, TC.2002.2.1.4, TC.2002.2.1.5

Emily Cole, the only one of Thomas Cole’s children to pursue painting, was known for her botanicals and hand-painted china. She was only five years old when her father passed away but grew up to share his affinity for the close observation of nature. She would later go on to make her own artwork in Thomas’s New Studio. Emily sold her hand-painted porcelain in the Hudson Valley and became a charter member of the New York Society of Keramic [sic] Arts, an organization founded in 1892 to promote the appreciation of ceramic arts. In her obituary she is referred to as the “Catskill China Painter.” Her porcelain was included in exhibitions and acquired for New York City collections of china painting; one newspaper review called her work “unrivalled” for its “delicacy, purity of color, and transparency.”

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