Emma Stebbins (1 September 1815 - 25 October 1882) was an American sculptor and the first woman to receive a public art commission from New York City. She is best known for her work Angel of the Waters (1873), also known as Bethesda Fountain, located on the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, New York. Biography Early life Stebbins was born on September 1, 1815 in New York City. She was the daughter of a wealthy banker, John L. Stebbins and Mary Largin. She was one of nine children and her family encouraged her interest in the arts. Life in Rome In 1856, Stebbins’ brother, Henry G. Stebbins, encouraged her to travel to Rome to pursue sculpting. That May, Stebbins, her younger sister Caroline, and their mother traveled to Rome, where Emma and Caroline settled. While Caroline married John Rollin Tilton, an American painter, in 1858, Emma was welcomed into a society of expatriates by Harriet Hosmer, also an American sculptor. Hosmer introduced Stebbins to some of her future teachers including John Gibson and Paul Akers. One of the leading ladies of the expatriates in Rome was Charlotte Cushman, an American actress. Upon meeting Stebbins, Cushman took a special interest in both her work and in her affections. The pair quickly became a couple and within a year of meeting, the women exchanged unofficial vows and considered themselves married. As she had done for others before, Cushman used her influence to help secure commissions for Stebbins. Stebbins and Cushman's romance strained their relationship with Hosmer, who had once been the object of Cushman's affections and influence. In September 1857, Stebbins and Charlotte returned the States so Cushman could recoup her savings, after her business manager embezzled funds. During Cushman's acting tour, Stebbins stayed with her family in New York. On July 6, Cushman gave her final performance and the couple sailed to England. Before returning to Rome in November 1858, the couple took a tour of the continent. Later years Stebbins and Cushman lived together for 12 years before returning to the United States after Cushman was diagnosed with breast cancer. Stebbins had stopped working in order to care for Cushman, until her death in 1876. Stebbins spent nearly the rest of her life writing Cushman's biography, Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life, and died on October 25, 1882 from lung disease. She was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery