Emma Edwards Green, born Emma Sarah Etine Edwards (1856-1942), later known as Mrs. Emma Green, was an American painter and designer. She designed the
State Seal of Idaho, used also on the
Flag of Idaho
The seal of the Territory of Idaho was adopted in 1863 and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The state Great Seal was designed by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a U.S. state seal.
The flag of the State of Idaho was a ...
, and is the only woman to have designed a state seal.
Biography
![Seal of Idaho](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Seal_of_Idaho.svg)
Emma Edwards Green was born Emma Sarah Etine Edwards in 1856
to Emma Jeanne Catherine Richard and former Missouri Governor
John Cummins Edwards
John Cummins Edwards (June 24, 1804 – October 14, 1888) was a Democratic politician from the state of Missouri. He served as a member of the 27th United States Congress as well as the 9th Governor of Missouri.
Early life
John Cummins Edward ...
in
Stockton, California. In 1890, Emma Edwards Green stopped in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...
, to visit friends on her way home from the Arts Students League of New York.
She decided to stay in Boise and began teaching art classes. In 1891, Edwards was invited to submit a design for the State Seal competition sponsored by the First Legislature for the State of Idaho.
On May 5, 1891, Edwards was awarded $100 by Governor
N. B. Willey for her design of the
state seal, which depicts a miner, a woman and various natural resources of Idaho.
The original seal painting is now held at the
Idaho State Historical Society
The Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Idaho that preserves and promotes the state's cultural heritage.
The society was founded as the Historical Society of Idaho Pioneers in 1881, nine years ...
.
A few years after designing the State Seal of Idaho, Edwards married James G. Green. She had no children, but assisted in raising her nephews. Emma Edwards Green died in Boise, Idaho, on January 6, 1942, and was buried with her husband in Oakland, CA.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Emma Edwards
1856 births
1942 deaths
19th-century American women artists
20th-century American women artists
American designers
American women painters
Artists from California
People from Stockton, California