Berla Emeree was born in Kansas
and grew up in El Paso. At seventeen she was in Philadelphia
studying with Frank Benton Ashley and Michel Jacobs. She
returned to Texas and studied with Jose Arpa, Xavier Gonzalez
and Rolla Taylor. In 1924 she opened the Emeree School of Art in
El Paso. That same year she first exhibited with the San Antonio
Art League. She was to show her work in some of Texas' most
important early exhibitions. In 1927 and 1928 she exhibited in
the Texas Wildflower Competitive Exhibitions in San Antonio. In
1936 she was a competitor in the Texas Centennial Exposition in
Dallas.