Cornelia Emery is a member of the Carmel Art Association, and a founding member of the Monterey Bay Plein Air Artists Association (MBPAPA). She received her BA from Smith College in Massachusetts and studied at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

She has traveled extensively, with longest stays in India, England, and France. Today she lives and works in Carmel, California. Cornelia Emery’s works can be found in private collections worldwide.