Bust of Charlotte Cushman by Emma Stebbins
date: label: date made
content: 1860
name: label: depicted (sitter)
content: Cushman, Charlotte
label: maker
content: Stebbins, Emma
notes: label: Description
content: Marble bust of nineteenth-century actress Charlotte Cushman, carved by her partner Emma Stebbins at their home in Rome, Italy. Inscribed on back: "E.S. Roma/1860."
label: Description
content: Charlotte Cushman was the most popular American female actor of the 1800s.
label: Description
content: Dozens of her wealthiest fans bought busts like this one, made by Cushman’s longtime partner Emma Stebbins at a workshop in Rome where Cushman supported a community of “jolly female bachelors” who produced art and lobbied for working women’s rights. Cushman’s own fame derived from playing men’s roles such as Romeo. Although she never publicly discussed her sexuality or gender identity, her groundbreaking performances on and off stage led women to celebrate her in a range of products, believing that she “stretches out an almost boundless horizon… for me.”
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Italy: Latian, Rome
topic: label: associated subject
content: LGBTQ
label: associated subject
content: Theater
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of The Cushman Family
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2018.0142.01
label: accession number
content: 2018.0142
label: catalog number
content: 2018.0142.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bust
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: marble (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 in x 7 in x 4 1/2 in; 27.94 cm x 17.78 cm x 11.43 cm