About the Artist

Life and Times

Emmy Krick was born in 1930 in Philadelphia, grew up in Merion, Pennsylvania, and attended Lower Merion High School.  Emmy attended the Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. She moved to a 150-acre farm in Chester County with her husband, Byron, and two children.

Emmy painted, farmed, and gardened throughout the years. In the 1950s, she designed artwork for the Able Greeting Card Company. While she had a career in commercial art, commissioned paintings and design work, she always believed that it seemed much more rewarding to teach art. She taught at Upland Country Day School, in Kennett Square, PA, and learned from children full-time, for 38 years.

During her teaching career, she began squeezing in moments to paint. This built up her passion for expression.  On several occasions, she was fortunate to be able to spend a sabbatical in Japan; the artwork of which, was a lifelong inspiration.  In addition to paintings of Japan, she created an incredible series of pen and ink drawings and wood block prints of Japanese scenes.  These may be for sale shortly.

In 2004, Emmy retired from teaching and was able to travel and explore the possibilities of capturing some of the gardens of the world.  Retirement also gave her time to spend as an avid horticulturalist; the gardens at her house were spectacular, and, while highly planned, they appeared to be "natural."  She painted and showed, in the Philadelphia area frequently, until shortly before her death. Emmy was a member of many organizations including:

• Philadelphia Horticultural Society
• Philadelphia Watercolor Society
• Longwood Gardens
• Washington Botanical
• Jenkins Art Association
• Chester County Art Association
• Delaware Valley Art League
• Montgomery Art Association

In April 2018, Emmy died in West Chester, PA.  In her memory, the family completed one last art show, and held an unforgettable, overflowing Life Celebration with over 50 wild flower arrangements, 40 of her works of art, and many, many people spoke. There is no doubt that Emmy really enjoyed her life. The day before she died, she told her Son: “I wanted to enrich the world with things of beauty… and have a fairly good time myself, while doing so”…  and she did, well done, and the world is richer for it.

Emmy's Statement About Flowers and Gardens

"I'm constantly trying to capture the spirit of a garden.  Gardens have drama and mystery and show nature's energy and power. There is emotion in the varied shapes, proportion, textures, compositions, and, especially, colors.  The constant change in a single garden echoes the transitory nature of life itself."

What the Critics Said

A leading Philadelphia art critic summed it up; "Emmy’s work is 'fluid, natural and brightly emotional'.  She is a master of color control. Her works are deceptively simple. By avoiding specific flower definition, she sustains tremendous power. Because her work is alive and joyful in color, energy and immediacy. Krick’s paintings are not only of gardens, but also about gardens – why we need them and grow them.”

About the Artwork On This Website, From Her Son Len

My Mother was constantly painting; she was prolific and she experimented with many styles.  Her early works were still-life in pen and ink, pastels, and, for 20 years, in water color, on paper. For many years, she painted in oil, on canvas.  For the last 15 years of her life, her primary medium was acrylic, on canvas.

Many of her works of art are hanging in people's houses and with relatives. At the time of her death, excluding the art pieces which were sold at the "last art show," she had about 480 paintings in her studio and at local galleries.  These are owned by the Emma Lou Krick Estate, of which I am the Executor.

I decided to have all her work professionally digitized and to market her artwork on-line.  The 42 original pieces on this website are chosen to illustrate some of her styles and subjects. This represents less than 10% of what we have available. When she was alive, my Mother sold her art in the $500 to $5,000 price range, we decided to price them from $350 to $850, excluding shipping.  Some are framed and many were created on pre-stretched canvas.  We are still researching the shipping prices.  We are also still researching the costs and pricing for limited edition high-quality prints of her paintings, which will be available on-line in the future.

I have organized these works of art into the following dozen "collections."

• Flower Gardens
• Flowers and Umbrellas
• Flowers in Pots
• Landscapes
• Grand Canyon From The River
• Utah - Zion and Mountains
• Maine Tidal Pools
• Nevada - Red Rock and the Desert
• Greek Isles - Skopelos
• Galapagos Islands
• Trip To Japan
• Abstract

 If you would like to see additional art work from any, or all collections, I have a complete index of all 480 pieces available, by e-mail.

Len Krick, her Son