Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History

Emma Stebbins, The Lotus Eater, 1863, The Hecksher Museum of Art, Huntington.

This exhibition is the first to recognize Emma Stebbins (1815-1882) as one of the most significant American sculptors of the nineteenth century. While her Bethesda Fountain in Central Park has been a global icon for 150 years, the full scope of Stebbins’ life and work is virtually unknown. The fountain was the first by a woman to be commissioned from the city of New York. From 1857 to 1870, she created innovative sculptures while living in Rome with her wife, renowned Shakespearean acress Charlotte Cushman, who championed her career. Stebbins modeled inventive and incisive interpretations of literary and biblical subjects, unprecdented allegories of American industry, and notable portraits of her friends and family.

The exhibition website includes multimedia content including a link to an Augmented Reality experience of the Bethesda Fountain.