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Emma Edwards Green

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Emma Edwards Green
Photo date unknown, before 1902
Born1856
Stockton, California, United States
DiedJanuary 6, 1942
Boise, Idaho, United States
Known forDesigning the first state seal of Idaho
SpouseJames G. Green

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 original State Seal of Idaho that was used from 1891 to 1957, a modified version of which is also used on the flag of Idaho. She is the only woman to have designed a state seal.[1][2]

Biography

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The original state seal of Idaho as designed by Green and adopted in 1891; it was used until 1957.

Emma Edwards Green was born Emma Sarah Etine Edwards in 1856[3] to Emma Jeanne Catherine Richard and former Missouri Governor John Cummins Edwards in Stockton, California. In 1890, Emma Edwards Green stopped in Boise, Idaho, to visit friends on her way home from the Arts Students League of New York.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[4][5] The original seal painting is now held at the Idaho State Historical Society.[6]

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, California.

References

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  1. ^ Randy Stapilus (19 October 2010). It Happened in Idaho: Remarkable Events That Shaped History. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-0-7627-6704-5.
  2. ^ One hundred years of Idaho art, 1850-1950: Boise Art ... - Page 62 Sandy Harthorn, Kathleen Bettis, Boise Art Museum - 1990 -"Emma Edwards Green arrived in Boise to visit cousins in 1890 shortly after Idaho achieved statehood. She was the oldest ... be the only woman to design a state seal, Emma Green made a lasting contribution to art in Idaho. "
  3. ^ a b "Emma Edwards Green - Artist Facts". www.askart.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Glynda Joy Nord (12 May 2014). Official State Flowers and Trees: Their Unique Stories. AuthorHouse. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-1-4907-3132-2.
  5. ^ a b "Idaho". HISTORY. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  6. ^ "Idaho State Flag". statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved May 4, 2021.