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Charlotte Cushman

Charlotte Cushman
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Charlotte Saunders Cushman, 23 Jul 1816 - 17 Feb 1876
Date
c. 1850
Type
Photograph
Medium
Half-plate daguerreotype
Dimensions
Image/Sight: 12.1 × 8.9 cm (4 3/4 × 3 1/2")
Mat (brass): 13.9 × 10.8 cm (5 1/2 × 4 1/4")
Case open (half): 15.3 × 12.4 × 1.3 cm (6 × 4 7/8 × 1/2")
Topic
Interior
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie
Cased object
Charlotte Saunders Cushman: Female
Charlotte Saunders Cushman: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Stage actor
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.78.60
Exhibition Label
Born Boston, Massachusetts
Charlotte Cushman was the foremost American-born actress of her day and the first to enjoy critical and popular acclaim at home and abroad. Following her 1836 New York City stage debut as Lady Macbeth, she honed her craft there and in Philadelphia, where she managed the Walnut Street Theatre from 1842 to 1844. With a dramatic range and commanding stage presence that more than compensated for her lack of conventional beauty, Cushman boldly developed a repertoire that included male as well as female roles. Taking London by storm in 1845, she returned to universal acclaim in the United States in 1849.
Nacida en Boston, Massachusetts
Charlotte Cushman fue en su día la actriz estadou- nidense más importante, y la primera que fue aclamada por el público y la crítica tanto en su país como en el extranjero. Después de su debut de 1836 en Nueva York como Lady Macbeth, perfeccionó su arte allí y en Filadelfia, donde dirigió el Walnut Street Theatre de 1842 a 1844. Con un registro dramático y una presencia escénica que compensaban de sobra su falta de belleza convencional, Cushman desarrolló un repertorio que incluía también papeles mascu- linos. Luego de conquistar Londres en 1845, regresó triunfante a Estados Unidos en 1849.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view