Charlotte Cushman

Charlotte Saunders Cushman was born on July 23, 1816, in Boston, Massachusetts, and died on February 18, 1876. A descendant in the eighth generation from Pilgrim Robert Cushman, who helped organize the Mayflower voyage and arrived in America aboard the Fortune in 1621, she became one of the most prominent American stage actresses of the nineteenth century. Her father, Elkanah, had risen from poverty to work as a successful West Indian merchant before financial troubles overtook him when Charlotte was thirteen. His death shortly thereafter left the family with nearly nothing, compelling her to leave school and pursue a career that could support them.

Cushman's early ambitions were musical rather than theatrical. Her voice possessed a full contralto register of notable compass and richness, and two friends of her father, including John Mackay, arranged for her to receive formal musical instruction. When singer Mrs. Joseph Wood visited Boston in 1834, Mackay introduced Cushman to her, and Cushman performed in two of her concerts. Through Wood's influence, Cushman became a pupil of James G. Maeder, a ladies' musical director, under whose guidance she made her operatic debut at Boston's Tremont Theatre as the Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, followed by a second appearance as Lucy Bertram in Guy Mannering. She subsequently traveled with Maeder's company to New Orleans, where the soprano parts assigned to her strained and ultimately damaged her voice. On the advice of James H. Caldwell, manager of the principal New Orleans theatre, and the tragedian Barton, she redirected her ambitions toward acting and was given Lady Macbeth as her first dramatic study. Her debut in the role in 1835 was a complete success.

Her professional stage career formally began on April 8, 1835, at the Tremont Theatre in Boston, when she was eighteen years old. After a successful season in New Orleans, she returned to New York City to perform under contract with the Bowery Theatre and earned strong notices in Albany for her Lady Macbeth. Her Broadway career extended from 1838 to 1869 and included appearances in London Assurance, The Naiad Queen, The Lady of Lyons, and Oliver Twist. Cushman's range was exceptional: her contralto voice and physical command of the stage allowed her to perform both male and female roles with equal authority. Among the most celebrated examples was her portrayal of Romeo opposite her younger sister Susan, who played Juliet. Susan Cushman had become an actress by 1839, having married Nelson Merriman at the age of fourteen before being abandoned by him while pregnant; Charlotte took on responsibility for her sister's care, and the two went on to achieve fame together in Shakespeare's play.

In 1843, Cushman entered into a romantic relationship with Rosalie Sully, daughter of the artist Thomas Sully, though the romance had ended by 1844. Around the same time she was also close to writer Anne Hampton Brewster, a relationship that ended under social pressure from Brewster's brother. Brewster later reflected on their time together in letters written in 1849 and ultimately bequeathed a portrait of Cushman by Thomas Sully to the Library of Philadelphia. In 1848, Cushman met journalist and part-time actress Matilda Hays, and the two became romantically involved. For approximately ten years they were together almost constantly, were known for dressing alike, and were publicly recognized as a couple in Europe.

By 1849, Cushman had returned to the United States, and by 1852 she had decided to retire from the stage. She and Hays took up residence in Rome, Italy, within an American expatriate community that included many artists and sculptors. Cushman used her prominence to support the work of sculptor Edmonia Lewis, an African American and Native American artist who had become a close friend. In 1854, Hays left Cushman for sculptor Harriet Hosmer, setting off a period of conflict among the three women. Hays eventually returned to live with Cushman, but the tensions between them persisted. By late 1857, Cushman had begun a relationship with sculptor Emma Stebbins. A confrontation with Hays over a note Cushman refused to show her ended their relationship violently and permanently; Hays subsequently sued Cushman, claiming she had sacrificed her own career in support of Cushman's and was owed compensation. Cushman paid her an undisclosed sum, and Stebbins moved in shortly after. During a tour to America not long after, Cushman met Emma Crow, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Wayman Crow, and the two began an affair. Cushman gave a farewell performance at the Washington Theater in the title role of Hamlet before departing for Italy, where Crow followed. In April 1861, Crow married Cushman's nephew, Ned Cushman.

Cushman maintained close friendships with political figures as well as artists and writers. When visiting Washington, D.C. in the 1860s, she frequently stayed at the home of Secretary of State William Seward. In July 1861, Seward introduced her to President Abraham Lincoln, who told her that Macbeth was his favorite Shakespearean play and expressed his hope of one day seeing her perform Lady Macbeth. In October 1863, Lincoln attended a performance of Macbeth at Grover's Theatre in which Cushman appeared, accompanied by his family. That same year she performed on several occasions for the benefit of the Sanitary Commission.

In 1869, Cushman began treatment for breast cancer. During the final years of her life she developed a career as a dramatic reader, presenting scenes from Shakespeare, ballad poetry, dialect poems, and humorous pieces. In 1871, following a period in Europe, she resumed work in the United States in this capacity while also fulfilling dramatic engagements. Her farewell was announced on multiple occasions across several years. Her final New York performance took place at Booth's Theatre, where she again played Lady Macbeth, and she gave similar farewell performances in Philadelphia and other cities. Her career concluded in Boston at the Globe Theatre on May 15, 1875. After a reading tour to Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, she retired to her villa at Newport, where she fell ill. She traveled to Boston in October for medical treatment and died on February 18, 1876.