Born in London, England, William Emerson was an architect and a painter of tonalist landscapes. He was active in Chicago and New Preston, Connecticut. He was a member of the New York Watercolor Club, Chicago Watercolor Club, Chicago Society of Artists, and the Westchester Art Institute and exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute.

Source:

Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"

Glenn Opitz, "Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers"