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

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