Emmy Thornam initially took drawing lessons at Teknisk Skole (The Technical School) in Horsens and later on Tegneskolen for Kvinder (The Drawing School for Women) under Vilhelm Kyhn from 1873 to 1875. Having begun her career as a painter of landscapes, she changed her focus to the painting of flowers, a genre, she was able to make a living from. She was educated under O.A. Hermansen (1849–1897) and was a student of the painter Pierre Bourgogne (1838–1904) in Paris in 1894. Thornam's style changed over time from a traditional more decorative style to a more loose manner with a greater coherence of motif. Emmy Thornam exhibited industriously all her life and was able to support her herself through her work as a painter and writer.