Emily Wilson was born in 1959 in Memphis, Tennessee and was raised in Huntsville, Alabama. In 1982, she received a BFA degree with a focus in painting from the Memphis College of Art in Memphis, Tennessee. During her time there she developed an interest in wood and metal media. Combining media and techniques with painting she began exhibiting her sculptural works in 1985. She took several semesters of independent study in the Wood Department at various times through the 1980's and 1990's at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, Tennessee.

A whimsical narrative style already present in her early development of sculpture was greatly influenced by living in the New Orleans area during the latter half of the 1980's. During this time, the discovery of wooden Mexican folk art helped inspire the painting techniques that she uses today. The imagery that appeared in her work at that time was also heavily influenced by her love of outsider artwork. In 1990, she relocated to Pensacola, Florida, followed by a move to Smithville, Tennessee in 1995. The Florida and Tennessee environment seemed to influence a direction towards more nature-oriented works. Then transitioning from the whimsical narrative to her current focus on stylized birds, fish, and organic forms contained in lyrical compositions. Today, Ms. Wilson lives in Northern Alabama and maintains a full-time studio there.

Selected Collections:

Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, MN
Advocate Good Shepard Hospital, Barrington, IL
American Embassy, Tjikistan
Avery Dennison, Cleveland, OH
Central DuPage Hospital, Cancer Center, Winfield, IL
Children’s Hospital at Scott and White, Temple, TX
Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO
Cinco Banderas Collection, Pensacola FL
Clayton Clarkson Cancer Center, St. Louis, MO
Codina Development Corp, Coral Gables, FL
Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
First Charter Bank, Charlotte, NC
Good Samaritan Heart and Vascular Hospital, Dayton, OH
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Lawrence General Hospital, Lawrence, MA
Maple Grove OB/GYN Clinic. Maple Grove, MN
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
McCracken and Lopez, Charlotte, NC
Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, AL
North Olmstead Public library, North Olmstead, OH
Northwest Airlines, Detroit, MI
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, NICU, Chicago, IL
Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee, WI
Pfizer, Cleveland, OH
St. Elizabeth Hospital, Appleton, WI
Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL
Southeast Missouri Cancer Center, Cape Girardeau, MO
Tri Point Medical Center, Concord, OH
Valley Hill Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ
Vernon Cancer Center, Newton, MA