Emma Stebbins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Stebbins

Emma Stebbins (September 1, 1815 - October 25, 1882) was among the first notable American woman sculptors. She is best known for her work “The Angel of the Waters” (1873), also known as “Bethesda Fountain,” located on the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, New York.

Career

Born and raised in a wealthy New York family, Stebbins was encouraged by her family in her pursuit of art from an early age. In 1857, sponsored by her brother Col. Henry G. Stebbins, head of the New York Stock Exchange, she moved to Rome where she moved in with sculptor Harriet Hosmer, who had established herself there in 1852. She studied under John Gibson an English neoclassicist working there at that time. In Rome she fell in love with actress Charlotte Saunders Cushman, and quickly became involved in the bohemian and feminist lesbian lifestyle, which was more tolerated there than it would have been back in New York.

Cushman was confidant, strong, and charismatic, and recently recovering from a break up following a ten-year relationship with the actress Matilda Hays. Cushman and Stebbins began travelling together, immediately taking a trip to Naples. Upon their return, they began spending time in a circle that included African American/Native American sculptor Edmonia Lewis, many celebrities, and fellow lesbians that included Harriet Hosmer. In this environment, the women flourished without regard for showing outward affection for one another.

One of Stebbins' early commissions was a portrait bust of Cushman between 1859-1860. In 1869, Cushman was treated for breast cancer. Stebbins devoted all her time during that ordeal to nursing her lover, ignoring her work during the next two years. The following year, the couple returned to the United States. Cushman died of pneomonia in 1876 at the age of 59. Following the death of Cushman, Stebbins never produced another sculpture. She released the correspondence, Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life in 1878. Stebbins died in New York in 1882, at the age of 67.

Works

Stebbins best known work is the Angel of the Waters, 1873,also known as Bethesda Founrtain, located on the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, New York. According to Central Park historian Sara Cedar Miller, Stebbins received the commission for the sculpture as a result of influence from her brother Henry, who at the time was president of the Central Park Board of Commissioners. Henry was proud of his sister's talent and hoped to have many examples of her art in Central Park.

'Angel of the Waters, created to celebrate the clean healthful water from New York's Croton Aqueduct, completed in 1842, with an oblique reference to the biblical "healing waters of Bethesda". The fountain complex is widely considered to be one of the great works of nineteenth century American sculpture.

Her bronze statue of educator Horace Mann was installed outside the State House in Boston in 1865.

Stebbins is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York.

Stebbins, Emma (1815-1882)

Emma Stebbins was part of what Henry James called "a white Marmorean flock," women sculptors who went to Rome in the mid-1800s to learn to work in marble. She is remembered for sculpture produced in a ten year period between 1859 and 1869, when she was in her forties and early fifties.

Her career in art was supported by her own commissions, her wealthy New York family, and her lover, who was the most famous English-language actress of the mid-nineteenth century.

Stebbins was born on September 1, 1815 and raised in New York City, the third daughter and sixth of nine children of a bank president and a Nova Scotia-born mother. Her family encouraged her talents in art and writing. She studied at various American studios and was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1843. She exhibited in National Academy and other shows.

In 1857, at the age of forty-one, Stebbins went to Rome for further study. In that city--home to a sizable Anglo-American colony--she found a large infrastructure supporting art: teachers, technicians, artists, students, and a flow of international collectors. Stebbins remained in Rome for the next decade, during which the United States Civil War (1861-1865) took place.

Shortly after arriving in Rome, Stebbins met Charlotte Saunders Cushman (1816-1876). Handsome, charismatic, and an exceptionally successful actress, Cushman was recovering from the breakup of a ten-year relationship with actress and writer Matilda Hays. After an Easter trip to Naples in 1857, Stebbins and Cushman decided to spend their lives together.

Stebbins and Cushman's friendship circle included lesbian sculptor Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908) and African-American/Native-American sculptor (Mary) Edmonia Lewis (1843-ca 1911), who may also have been a lesbian. They were also acquainted with French lesbian painter Rosa Bonheur.

In Rome, Stebbins--who had originally trained as a painter--shifted her interest to an idealized form of figure sculpture. After a period of study, she supported herself through sculpture commissions, many from Americans. Cushman promoted her work and, at least once, raised funds for casting a major piece.

An early commission was a portrait bust of Cushman made in 1859-1860. Cushman had a prominent jaw of the type often referred to as "lantern," which Stebbins handled with grace and dignity. Her bronze statue of educator Horace Mann was installed outside the State House in Boston in 1865.

Stebbins' best known work rises above the Bethesda Fountain in New York City's Central Park. Unveiled in May 1873, Angel of the Waters is a draped, winged, bronze figure with arms spread downward, blessing the water below. Her pedestal is supported by four cherubs representing Health, Temperance, Purity, and Peace.

When, in 1869, Cushman was operated on for breast cancer, Stebbins devoted herself to nursing her lover. The following year, the couple returned to the United States.

Cushman died of pneumonia in Boston in 1876 at the age of fifty-nine. She is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Following Cushman's death, Stebbins wrote the actress's biography and compiled her correspondence: Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life (1878).

After the death of Cushman, Emma Stebbins produced no more sculpture. She died in New York in 1882 at age sixty-seven of "phthisis," a progressive wasting disease, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

Tee A. Corinne

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Born and raised in a wealthy New York family, Stebbins was encouraged by her family in her pursuit of art from an early age. In 1857, sponsored by her brother Col. Henry G. Stebbins, head of the New York Stock Exchange, she moved to Rome where she studied under John Gibson an English neoclassicist working there at that time. In Rome she fell in love with actress Charlotte Saunders Cushman, and quickly became involved in the bohemian and feminist lesbian lifestyle, which was more tolerated there than it would have been back in New York.

Cushman was confidant, strong, and charismatic, and recently recovering from a break up following a ten-year relationship with the actress Matilda Hays. Cushman and Stebbins began travelling together, immediately taking a trip to Naples. Upon their return, they began spending time in a circle of fellow lesbians that included sculptor Harriet Hosmer and African American/Native American sculptor Edmonia Lewis/Mary Lewis. In this environment, the women flourished without regard for showing outward affection for one another.

One of Stebbins' early commissions was a portrait bust of Cushman between 1859-1860. In 1869, Cushman was treated for breast cancer. Stebbins devoted all her time during that ordeal to nursing her lover, ignoring her work during the next two years. The following year, the couple returned to the United States. Cushman died of pneomonia in 1876 at the age of 59. Following the death of Cushman, Stebbins never produced another sculpture. She released the correspondence, Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life in 1878. Stebbins died in New York in 1882, at the age of 67.

Works

Stebbins best known work is the Angel of the Waters, 1873,also known as Bethesda Founrtain, located on the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, New York. According to Central Park historian Sara Cedar Miller, Stebbins received the commission for the sculpture as a result of influence from her brother Henry, who at the time was president of the Central Park Board of Commissioners. Henry was proud of his sister's talent and hoped to have many examples of her art in Central Park.

'Angel of the Waters, created to celebrate the clean healthful water from New York's Croton Aqueduct, completed in 1842, with an oblique reference to the biblical "healing waters of Bethesda". The fountain complex is widely considered to be one of the great works of nineteenth century American sculpture.

Her bronze statue of educator Horace Mann was installed outside the State House in Boston in 1865.

Stebbins is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Corinne, Tee A. (2002), "Stebbins, Emma", glbtq.com, <http://www.glbtq.com/arts/stebbins_e.html>. Retrieved on 2007-11-30

   * Opitz, Glenn B , Editor, Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers, Apollo Book, Poughkeepsie NY, 1986

   * Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, American Women Sculptors, G.K. Hall & Co., Boston 1990

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Born September 1, 1815 in New York City into an affluent family, Stebbins explored the arts at an early age, and as an artist she worked with pastel, oil, and watercolor. In 1842, Stebbins became the seventh woman elected to the National Academy of Design, but she did not embark on her notable career as a sculptor until the age of 42, in 1857, when she left the United States to study sculpture in Rome. Initially studying in Paul Akers’ studio, she opened her own studio a short time later. During her first winter in Rome she befriended the American actress Charlotte Cushman, who would become her life-long companion.

Stebbins and Cushman returned to America in the early 1870’s, spending most of their time at Cushman’s mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. Stebbins was the first woman to receive a commission for a major work of art in New York City, and it was under this commission that she would produce her most famous piece: Angel of the Waters. The fountain was unveiled in 1873 on Central Park’s Bethesda Terrace, where it still stands. The statue of Horace Mann that stands before the Boston State House and the statue of Christopher Columbus in front of the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York, both included among her best known works, were publicly commissioned as well. After Cushman’s death in 1876, Stebbins compiled a biography entitled Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life (1878). She died on October 25, 1882 in New York City, only a few months before the Memorial was presented to the Columbia College Trustees

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1815 – 1882

Emma Stebbins was born in New York City, where her father John Stebbins was a prominent Wall Street broker and president of the North River Bank. Stebbins studied painting and sculpture in various American studios and concluded, as did many American sculptors in the 1850s and 1860s, that to receive proper training in sculpture she must go to Rome, where the best instructors and patrons gravitated. She moved to Rome in 1856 and was soon accepted into the studio of eminent American sculptor Benjamin Paul Akers.

In Rome, Stebbins met the American actress Charlotte Cushman, who would become champion of her career. The two formed an intense friendship and became devoted companions. With Aker’s direction and Charlotte’s encouragement, Stebbins began accepting commissions from touring Americans and established a name for herself as a sculptor of portrait busts and classical figures. With the help of Charlotte’s influence, she began securing more prestigious commissions, including the statue of Horace Mann in front of the State House in Boston (dedicated in 1865) and a statue of Christopher Columbus (1867) in Columbus Park beside the Supreme Court Building in Brooklyn.

Emma’s brother Henry Stebbins, President of the Board of Commissioners of Central Park, was instrumental in her selection for the most important commission of her career—a sculpture to adorn Bethesda Fountain, the symbolic heart of the Park. The result, her Angel of the Waters sculpture, is among the most celebrated and widely-recognized works of art in the city of New York.