[1] Oliver was born in London, being the daughter of Mary and William Eburne, a coach-builder from Rathbone Place.
[2] In September 1840 she married the painter William Oliver and the couple regularly took painting tours of Britain and Germany.
[3] Emma Oliver exhibited watercolours and oil paintings from these tours at the Royal Academy in London, at the British Institution and with the Society of British Artists.
[2][1] Her later works included Rhine landscapes and scenes of Venice.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds examples of her work.