Emmerson was a founding member and first president of the Bewick Club, a Newcastle association of painters and illustrators that also included among its founders the likes of Robert Jobling, Ralph Hedley, John Surtees, and Thomas Dickinson.

[2] Notable paintings of Emmerson, some of which hung in the Royal Academy, include The Queen's Letter, The Critics, The First Suit, and The Foreign Invasion.

[4] Emmerson also provided illustrations to children's books, including Afternoon Tea (1880) with J. G. Sowerby, and The May Blossom (1881), both published by Frederick Warne & Co.

Afternoon Tea, although well received by reviewers attracted a bit of controversy, as some claimed it was a cheap derivative of Under the Window, a popular 1879 book by Kate Greenaway.

Emmerson claimed to be of the family that produced the poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, although biographical details published after his death suggest the relation was probably very remote.