Emily Cate Sabree
About
Emily Cate Sabree (b. 1981) is a contemporary realist oil painter based in Manhattan whose work examines disposable objects and leisure culture as essential components of American consumerism. Through a precise realist approach, she highlights the contradictions, comforts, and complexities of modern life. Much of her recent work centers on the plastic items ubiquitous to annual celebrations—objects used for only hours yet destined to persist in landfills for centuries.
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A 2024–25 merit scholarship recipient at the Art Students League of New York, Emily studied portraiture and figure painting with acclaimed White House portrait artist Sharon Sprung. She is also a resident artist member of the Salmagundi Club, where she engages with a vibrant artistic community that continually enriches her practice. In 2025, both institutions recognized her work with awards.
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Emily’s paintings are held in private collections across the United States. In 2023, she completed an artist residency at the Ora Lerman Charitable Trust, deepening her exploration of contemporary narratives in still-life and figurative work. Her recent exhibitions include MYTHOS at The Painting Center, Postcards from Paradise at Voss Gallery in San Francisco, and the Affordable Art Fair NYC with treat gallery. She has also exhibited at the Nordstrom NYC Flagship home store, expanding her reach to a broader audience.
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Blending traditional oil techniques with themes drawn from present-day culture, Emily creates thoughtful, resonant works that invite viewers to reconsider their relationship to consumerism and the seemingly ordinary objects that shape daily life.
Exhibitions
2025 Scholarship & Grant Show, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, Art Students League of New York, NY
2025 Affordable Art Fair, treat gallery, New York, NY
2025 Summer Invitational Show, Skylight Gallery, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2025 New Members Invitational Show, Rockwell Gallery, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2025 Student Salon, Sharon Sprung class show, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, Art Students League of New York, NY
2024 Holiday Show, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, Art Students League of New York, NY
2024 Day of the Dead Group exhibition, League at Large x Nordstrom, New York, NY
2024 Summer Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2024 Pollinators Group exhibition, VEME Studios, Greenport, NY
2023 Curious Spontaneity Group exhibition, Nordstrom Flagship Home Store, New York, NY
2023 Postcards From Paradise Group exhibition, Voss Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023 Affordable Art Fair, treat gallery, New York, NY
2023 MYTHOS Group exhibition, Curated by Clintel Steed, The Painting Center, New York, NY
2023 Artist Residency Exhibition, Soaring Gardens Residency at the Ora Lerman Trust, Laceyville, PA
2022 Summer Lovin' Group exhibition, treat gallery, New York, NY
2022 Piccolo Group exhibition, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2022 Artist Residency Exhibition, JX Farms Artist Residency, Cleveland, MS
2022 The Color of Nature Group exhibition, Inside Small Art Exhibits, Rockland, NY
2022 Art in the Time of Corona Vol. 3 Group exhibition, Dab Art Co., Los Angeles, CA
2022 Student Concours Group exhibition, Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, Art Students League of New York, NY
2022 ETERNITY Group exhibition, The Holy Art Gallery, London, UK
2022 Best in Show Group exhibition, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2022 Group exhibition, Rockland Arts Festival, Rockland, NY
Press
Activities
2025 Artsy + treat gallery + Affordable Art Fair
2023 Witness Magazine Spring Issue Cover Artist
2023 Create! Magazine Interview, Contemporary Realism Meets Pop Art
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2025 SCNY 3rd prize, Summer Invitational Show, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2025 Blue Dot Award, Student Salon Honorable Mention, Art Students League of New York, NY
2024-25 John R. Regan, Jr. Merit Scholarship Recipient, Art Students League of New York, NY
2023 Resident Artist Membership, The Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2023 Artist Residency, Soaring Gardens at the Ora Lerman Charitable Trust, Laceyville, PA
2023 Guest Curator, Summer Saudade, Art y Honey Gallery, New York, NY
2023 Create! Magazine Interview, Philadelphia, PA
2023 Witness Magazine Spring Issue Cover Artist, University of Las Vegas, NV
2022 Artist Talk, Troy University, Troy, AL
2022 Artist Residency, JX Farms, Cleveland MS
2022 Artist Talk, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2022 Artist Interview, The Color of Nature Exhibition, Ridgewood, NJ
Artist Statement
My practice centers on realistic oil painting grounded in close observation, examining consumer habits, sustainability, and the material afterlives of everyday objects. Recent work focuses on single-use plastics. I reflect on the lasting impact of items drawn from my own consumer choices that briefly mark celebration or leisure yet persist in landfills for generations. Through technical precision and sustained looking, I explore the cultural and ecological tensions embedded in these materials and the contradictions they reveal within contemporary consumer culture.
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To reduce material waste, I am shifting to developing compositions using found objects and digitally sourced imagery, which I then translate through a layered, hands-on oil painting process. I am currently expanding my practice by incorporating natural elements and looser paint handling developed through plein air studies, using direct observation to introduce greater expressiveness and contrast. My work invites reflection on how consumer choices shape both personal experience and collective responsibility, finding meaning within the ordinary while envisioning more sustainable ways of life.