A rare portrait of the controversial American actress, Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876).
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Cushman’s 1835 theatrical debut was largely prompted by the death of her father and the family’s subsequent financial ruin. She and her sister, Susan, frequently acted together, famously playing Romeo and Juliet. Cushman was openly queer and had a string of female partners including the artist Rosalie Sully, the writer Anne Hampton Brewster, and actress and writer Matilda Hays. Hays and Cushman were publicly known as a couple and became known for dressing alike. Cushman retired from acting and took up residence with Hays in Rome by 1852. They lived in an American expatriate community made up of queer artists and writers. Cushman returned to the US in the 1860’s where she came out of retirement for several farewell performances, her last being the role of Lady Macbeth at the Globe Theatre in Boston in 1875. Cushman died of pneumonia in 1876.
Here Cushman is seated, turned slightly to her right and looking directly at the viewer. Her right hand is resting on the arm of the chair, with her left holding an open tie at her chest. She is wearing a simple dress, her hair parted at the centre and tied back. A facsimile signature is below the portrait.
In 1915 she was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans and sculptor Emma Stebbins’, who she was romantically linked with, statue The Angel of the Waters, above the fountain in Central Park’s Bethesda Terrace, is said to be inspired by Cushman.
