Emma Cheves Wilkins (1870–1956) was an American painter who played a major role in the art scene in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

during the early twentieth century. Her works can be found in the permanent collections of

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...

in Savannah, the

Morris Museum of Art The Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia was established in 1985 as a non-profit foundation by William S. Morris III, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle, in memory of his parents, as the first museum dedicated to the collection and exhibition ...

in Augusta, the

Telfair Museum of Art Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...

in Savannah, and in private collections.

Background

Emma Cheves Wilkins was born on December 10, 1870, the first child of Emma Cheves and Gilbert A. Wilkins. She was a lifelong resident of Savannah, Georgia and inherited the artistic talents of her mother and grandmother. She studied at the

Telfair Academy The Telfair Academy is a historic mansion at 121 Barnard Street in Savannah, Georgia. It was designed by William Jay and built in 1818, and is one of a small number of Jay's surviving works. It is one of three sites owned by Telfair Museums. Or ...

under Carl Brandt. Alongside her mother in the 1890s, Wilkins taught art lessons at a studio in Savannah as the market for her artwork extended. As a self-sustaining artist, Wilkins painted portraits of judges, politicians, bankers, doctors, and to a lesser extent of women and children. Wilkins traveled to Paris in 1896 with fellow Savannah artist Lucile Desbouillons. The pair lived at the American Girl's Club for a few months and were enrolled in

Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois, also known as Gustave Courtois (; 18 May 1852 in Pusey, Haute-Saône – 1923 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French painter, a representative of the academic style of art. Life Courtois was born 18 May 1852 in ...

and Louis-Auguste Girardot's classes for foreigners at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

. In the 1900s, she began restorative artwork on several paintings. Wilkins also exhibited her work frequently. In 1931, she was awarded a prize for the "best local subject painted in or around Savannah" for a work she exhibited at the eleventh annual exhibition of the Southern States Art League.Eleventh Annual Exhibition of the Southern States Art League (Savannah, Georgia: Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1931)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Emma Cheves 1870 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters