Emily Arthur is an American artist and Professor at UW-Madison who has served as a Harvard University, visiting fellow in Print & Graphic Art and Barnes Foundation fellow. Her artwork is found in the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, Chazen Museum, Saint Louis Museum, and Tweed Museum. Her work is informed by a concern for the environment, exile and return to home. Her artwork bears uncertainties between displacement or belonging. She embeds archival materials in contemporary print, tracing her paternal heritage as undocumented descendants of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the southeast. Her ongoing research of early 19th century engraving chemistry used to publish “The Birds of America,” challenges John James Audubon’s images of natural history within context of imperialism, manifest destiny and the narrative of a singular genius. Arthur describes, “Art is not in the service of science. Art and science share the responsibility of observation and witness. It is through observation that science gives us proof of our material make up. It is through observation that art gives us material proof of our spiritual make up. Encountering a great work of art or a great leap in science changes our perception; it asks us to see and then to see once again, more deeply."
