| Nationality: | American |
| Style: | Pictorialism |
| Movement: | Photo-Secession |
| Birth Place: | Gratiot, Ohio, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Newark, Ohio, U.S. |
| Birth Date: | March 1, 1857 |
| Death Date: | September 30, 1941 (aged 84) |
| Known For: | Photography |
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.
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]
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 |
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.