CLASS NEWS & PHOTOS
In Memoriam Georgina Jill Traverso ’43 6/3/2015 Nancy Haley Lyle ’44
ALUMS SHARE MEMORIES OF LEGENDARY “MISS EM” Rose Lenhart Magee ‘53 generously donated two paintings by legendary Wheeler Art teacher Louise Late Emerson to the school last year. Along with the paintings (one of Nantucket is pictured below), Rose gathered some reflections about “Miss Em” we are happy to share below. From Marcia Sewall ‘53 Miss Em owned a charming little house at 94 Meeting St. in Providence. For probably ten years my mother rented the first floor apartment from Miss Em, and I recall one lovely painting of hers of Nantucket which hung on our wall or hallway. When my mother moved to N.H. it stayed behind. I do have a spirited ink drawing which she did of her room in my grandparent's Maine house when she visited. It is unsigned. She was very active in the Providence Art Club and the Artists Association of Nantucket. She might have been one of the founding members there. I recall she had a studio in the Providence Arcade building, downtown Providence. Gloria Vanderbilt Stakowski (also a Wheeler graduate) was a devoted friend of Miss Em's and collected her work, especially collages. Also, heirs of Elizabeth Saltonstall, Providence, a Nantucket painter, too, whom I believe taught at Wheeler with Miss Em, might have some paintings. If you google Louise L. Emerson, painter, a lovely painting of hers is listed for sale. Maybe some graduate would like to make that donation? I recall her as a no-nonsense person, very sensitive, very genuine, a work of art herself. I do recall a "little hat," but I think of her with bangs and a chignon (often with cigarette), blouses, skirts and sturdy shoes, busily going about her work, with a roguish spirit about her. For many of us, she was a very memorable, inspiring person and the epitome of "artist." From Rose Lenhart Magee ‘53 I think of “Miss Em” as having been “old” even when we were students. She was crusty, irreverent, wore old clothes and I believe a small hat on her head. She was truly an “individual” but I still believe her art classes were important to our education. After (my husband’s) service in the US Air Force, we moved to Massachusetts when he began studying at Harvard Law School. One summer weekend we visited Miss Em on Nantucket where she had a small home. Coincidentally, the local art museum was featuring her work then. Later after moving to Seattle in 1962 I decided I wanted one of her paintings and wrote to her. She actually sent 4 or 5 and I selected two, one of flowers and one of Nantucket. I had them framed and enjoyed them all these years. I still have many fond memories of Wheeler. Of course it has changed completely over the years, but I’m very pleased with its current successes. Louise Emerson (1901-1974 was an important member of the Nantucket summer art scene for over fifty years. She was a charter member of the “45 Group” and a founding member of the Artists Association of Nantucket. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Emerson headed the art department at the Mary C.Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island. She worked in a variety of media, including silkscreen and collage, inspiring her friends and colleagues, including Isabelle Tuttle and Charlotte Kimball, to make experiments in those techniques as well. 34 Now & Then @ Wheeler
Bio info from the Nantucket Historical Association website page about The Nantucket Art Colony, 1920-45
9/18/2015
Margaret Ricketson Sprague ’46 6/2/2015 Lane Stanley ’50
7/20/2015
Sarah L. Bates ’51
11/4/2015
Patricia W. Cooper ’58
6/1/2015
Jacalyn Weinstein Brookner ’63 5/15/2015 Melinda K. Leeson ’69
8/16/2015
Elizabeth Moore ’69
9/22/2015
Gail M. Brown ’71
7/4/2015
Former Faculty & Staff Gertrude Pansey AP ’75 former reading specialist
5/6/2015
Alton Sims former faculty in the Wheeler music conservatory 9/24/2015