(American, 1831-1893), signed lower right. A couple small scratches at upper and lower left border. 23 1/2" high, 29 1/2" wide. Emma C. Church was among an early group of pioneering American women artists who, in the middle of the nineteenth century, asserted their personal and artistic independence by traveling abroad to live, work and study. Their relatively emancipated lifestyles and assertions of individuality would provide an example for their peers and for subsequent generations. She was one of only a handful of professional female artists working in the United States prior to the Civil War and of an even smaller group that would venture overseas.