Emma Stebbins (1815-1882)
Sculptor, "First Woman to Receive a Public Art Commission from New York City"
She was born in New York City and as a child wrote verse, songs, and painted. She studied with New York’s leading portraitist, Henry Inman, and by 1843 her talent saw her elected as an associate of the National Academy of Design. In 1857, her influential brother, Henry G. Stebbins, encouraged her to go to Rome to continue her study of painting. While there, mixing in the circle of Harriet Hosmer, she turned to sculpture, studying under Benjamin Akers and an Italian Master. It was also in Rome that her sister met and married John Rollin Tilton, and she met the American actress Charlotte Cushman, with whom she exchanged unofficial wedding vows within a year and who would remain her greatest advocate for the rest of their lives. Her most famous piece is The Angel of the Waters, better known today as the Bethesda Fountain which was unveiled in Central Park in 1873. It was the first commission given to a woman for a major work in New York City, for which she received the unprecedented sum of $60,000 (c.$1 million).
She inherited the "Cushman Villa" at Lenox, Massachusetts, left to her by her partner, Charlotte. When Emma died, she left the house to her three married sisters, Mary Garland, Angelina Fleming, and Caroline Tilton, who maintained it as their family summer home.
She inherited the "Cushman Villa" at Lenox, Massachusetts, left to her by her partner, Charlotte. When Emma died, she left the house to her three married sisters, Mary Garland, Angelina Fleming, and Caroline Tilton, who maintained it as their family summer home.