Ema Spencer
Ema Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 1857 Gratiot, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 30, 1941 (aged 84) Newark, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Photography |
| Style | Pictorialism |
| Movement | Photo-Secession |
Ema Spencer (March 1, 1857 – September 30, 1941) was an American photographer, newspaper columnist, and teacher from Newark, Ohio. In 1898, alongside Clarence H. White, Spencer was one of the co-founders of the Newark Camera Club, an amateur photography club.
Early life
[edit]Ema Spencer was born to Dr. Benjamin Franklin Spencer and his wife, Susan Porter Spencer, in the Licking County, Ohio village of Gratiot. She had a sister, Carolyn, and a brother, Charles Hildreth. She attended Newark High School where she graduated Valedictorian and she went on to study at the Young Ladies' Institute in nearby Granville.[1]
Photography career
[edit]In early 1898 Spencer and Clarence H. White co-founded the Newark Camera Club, a group of fifteen amateur photographers from the city.[2] That fall she served as the Secretary for the newly established Ohio State Association of Amateur Photographers.[3] Spencer's photography career continued until at least 1914 despite the Newark Camera Club's dissolution in 1906 when White left for New York.
| Year | Exhibition | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | Newark Camera Club[4] | 161 North 4th St., Newark, Ohio, U.S. | Held at Ema Spencer's home |
| 1899 | Newark Camera Club[5] | YMCA, Newark, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 1899 | Philadelphia Salon[6] | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| 1900 | Chicago Photographic Salon[7] | The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 1900 | Third Philadelphia Photographic Salon[8] | Alfred Stieglitz, Gertrude Käsebier, Clarence H. White, Frank Eugene served as jury members | |
| 1900 | Newark Camera Club | YMCA, Newark, Ohio, U.S. | |
| 1901 | New York Camera Club | ||
| 1901 | Ninth Annual Exhibition of the Photographic Salon | Dudley Gallery at the Egyptian Hall, London, UK | Organized by the Linked Ring |
| 1902 | The "Photo-Secession" at the Arts Club | National Arts Club, New York City, U.S. | |
| 1902 | International Exposition | Turin, Italy | Awarded the silver medal |
| 1903 | The First International Exhibition for Contemporary Picture-Photography | Wiesbaden, Germany | Awarded unknown medal |
| 1903 | An Exhibition of Salon Photographs | The Photographic Society of Philadelphia | |
| 1906 | Fourteenth Annual Exhibition of the Photographic Salon | London, UK | |
| 1907 | Annual Member's Exhibition, New York Photo Club | New York City, U.S. | |
| 1910 | International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography | Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, U.S. | |
| 1911 | International Exposition | Hamburg, Germany | Awarded unknown medal |
| 1912 | An Exhibition Illustrating the Progress of the Art of Photography | Montross Art Galleries, New York City, U.S. | |
| 1914 | Ema Spencer[9] | Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn, New York City | Solo exhibition |
| 1914 | The Fifty-Ninth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society | Gallery of the Royal Society of British Artists, London, UL | |
| 1988 | In Pursuit of Art Amid Difficulties | The Ohio State University, Newark Art Gallery, the Lancaster Library, and the Ohio Historical Society | Posthumous. Organized by the Ohio State University, Newark and the Licking County Historical Society |
| 2020 | No Mere Button-Pressers: Clarence H. White, Ema Spencer, and The Newark Camera Club[10] | Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, U.S. and The Works, Newark, Ohio, U.S. | Posthumous |
Newspaper career
[edit]Early in her life Spencer held a variety of jobs at the Newark Advocate. In the 1880s she was managing three of the departments at the paper. In 1916 Spencer began writing a daily column called "The Melting Pot" under the pen name "Aunt Ca'line." She continued the column for 25 years, stopping only near the end of her life.
References
[edit]
- ^ Haverstock, Mary Sayre (2000). Artists in Ohio, 1787–1900 : a biographical dictionary. Vance, Jeannette Mahoney, Meggitt, Brian L., Weidman, Jeffrey, Oberlin College Library. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-616-7. OCLC 38731960.
- ^ Spencer, Ema (1898). "The Newark Camera Club". Brush and Pencil. 3 (2): 93–99. doi:10.2307/25505327. JSTOR 25505327.
- ^ "Camera Club". Chillicothe Gazette. November 21, 1899.
- ^ "The Newark Camera Club invites you to be present at a reception and exhibition to be held at the home of Miss Spencer August 4, 1898. 161 North 4th St. 7:30 o'clock". Library of Congress. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ The Newark Camera Club 1899 Exhibition Catalogue, Licking County Historical Society
- ^ "The New photo-miniature. v.2 pt.1 no.13–18 1900". HathiTrust. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Photographic Salon of 1900 / held under the joint management of the Chicago Society of Amateur Photographers and the Art Institute of Chicago". libmma.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ "Photo-era magazine. v.5–6 1900–1901". HathiTrust. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ Sciences, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and (1914). Yearbook of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
- ^ "No Mere Button-Pressers: Clarence H. White, Ema Spencer, and The Newark Camera Club". Columbus Museum of Art. July 2, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
- People from Licking County, Ohio
- Photographers from Ohio
- 19th-century American newspaper people
- American women columnists
- 19th-century women writers
- 19th-century American photographers
- 20th-century American photographers
- 1857 births
- 1941 deaths
- 19th-century American women photographers
- 20th-century American women photographers