History
Emma Stebbins was born on the 1st September, 1815 and she was raised in New York. She was the third daughter and sixth of nine children. Her parents and siblings always encouraged her talents in art and writing throughout her youth. In 1843 she studied at various American studios and was elected to the National Academy of Design.
To study furthermore, Stebbins moved to Rome in 1857. There, in that city, she found a large infrastructure supporting art: teachers, technicians, artists, students, and a flow of international collectors. She remained in Rome for another decade, during the Civil War in the United States (1861-1865)
Awhile after arriving in Rome, she met Charlotte Saunders Cushman (1816-1876). Cushman was an actress famous for playing male characters, she was handsome and charismatic. After an Easter trip to Naples in 1857, Stebbins and Cushman decided to spend their lives together.
Both Stebbins and Cushman’s friends included women from the lesbian circle. Sculptor Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908), African-American / Native-American sculptor Edmonia Lewis (1843-ca 1911), and also the French lesbian painter Rosa Bonheur.
Emma Stebbins produced no more sculpture after the death of Cushman. She died in 1882, New York, at the age of sixty-seven. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.
To study furthermore, Stebbins moved to Rome in 1857. There, in that city, she found a large infrastructure supporting art: teachers, technicians, artists, students, and a flow of international collectors. She remained in Rome for another decade, during the Civil War in the United States (1861-1865)
Awhile after arriving in Rome, she met Charlotte Saunders Cushman (1816-1876). Cushman was an actress famous for playing male characters, she was handsome and charismatic. After an Easter trip to Naples in 1857, Stebbins and Cushman decided to spend their lives together.
Both Stebbins and Cushman’s friends included women from the lesbian circle. Sculptor Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908), African-American / Native-American sculptor Edmonia Lewis (1843-ca 1911), and also the French lesbian painter Rosa Bonheur.
Emma Stebbins produced no more sculpture after the death of Cushman. She died in 1882, New York, at the age of sixty-seven. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.