The 1800s romance of Charlotte Cushman and Emma Stebbins: Cushman, one of the most celebrated actors of the 19th century, often played male as well as female roles. Stebbins was the first woman awarded a public art commission in New York City, for her sculpture "Angel of the Waters" that stands atop the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. She met Cushman through a social circle of other independent and often wealthy women artists and creators, and they started a relationship that lasted the rest of their lives. Cushman served as Stebbins’ greatest advocate and worked hard to promote her partner’s art. American newspapers discussed them together—whether they reported on Cushman’s acting tours or Stebbins’ sculptural works—but seemed to celebrate their closeness and camaraderie without referring to the couple's true romantic relationship. Many audiences at the time saw Cushman's lack of male partners as evidence of chastity, and interpreted her relationships with women as close, but platonic, friendships. Cushman did not correct this view, and frequently told her partners and lovers to burn her letters to protect her reputation. This portrait of Cushman is by the Case & Getchell Studio, c. 1863, and from @smithsoniannpg. The 1856 image of Stebbins comes from an album of cartes-de-visites (small collectible photo cards) of notable 19th-century American artists, in our @silibraries. #SmithsonianPride #PrideMonth