Painting, collecting and writing
Born Emily Caroline Noyes in New York, Vanderpoel was privately educated and studied art with Robert Swain Gifford and William Sartain. She married John Aaron Vanderpoel in 1865 and had one son. Watercolour was her principal medium, although she also painted in oils.
Her life in New York and Litchfield included collecting Japanese art and pottery and writing about decorative work. American Lace and Lace-Makers was another result of those interests. The Litchfield Historical Society preserves paintings and records of her work. Color Problems grew from this combination of artistic practice and sustained attention to the colours of made objects.
A practical manual for several kinds of makers
The copy of Color Problems held here is dated 1902 and promises 117 coloured plates. Vanderpoel explains that scientific accounts can be difficult for a general reader, while books addressed only to painters do not meet every maker’s needs. Her intended audience includes designers, decorators and others whose work requires decisions about colour.
Simple squares on contrasting grounds make a relationship visible without a complicated subject. Other plates analyse textiles, ceramics and decorative designs. The text is deliberately brief, giving repeated observation a large part in the teaching. The diagrams are exercises within a historical colour system; the changing qualities of digital screens mean that a reproduction cannot serve as a calibrated substitute for the original printed colours.
