Una Hawthorne (March 3, 1844 – September 10, 1877) was the eldest daughter of the renowned American novelist
Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife, Sophia Peabody Hawthorne.Queer Places:
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Bedford St, Concord, MA 01742, United States
Una Hawthorne (March 3, 1844 – September 10, 1877) was the eldest daughter of the renowned American novelist
Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife, Sophia Peabody Hawthorne.
Born in Concord, Massachusetts, Una spent much of her youth within the vibrant, close-knit literary circles of New England. In 1858, during a family sojourn in Italy, Una contracted malaria. The illness was severe, and although she survived, her health—both physical and mental—remained fragile for the rest of her life.
Una’s artistic ambitions were deeply influenced by the expatriate community of female artists she encountered in Rome, including sculptors like Harriet Hosmer. Drawn to the independence and unconventional lives of these women, she wrote of her desire to live in Italy, "often paying long visits to England, and sometimes to America, [to] pursue my studies and other occupations unmolested by mankind in general". Her father, while concerned by her "alarming fervor" for Rome and the potential path she wished to take, eventually conceded that a stay in the city might benefit her. After her father's death in 1864, Una, along with her mother and sister, Rose, spent time in Dresden, where she continued her studies in art and music.
At the time there was a "sisterhood of American lady sculptors" residing in Rome. Figures like Harriet Hosmer and Charlotte Cushman were central to this expatriate community.
This group of women, including Hosmer and Cushman, was known for living independently, pursuing professional careers in art, and forming close-knit, often same-sex partnerships that challenged the gender norms of the era.
Researchers and historians often point to this community as a source of inspiration for Una. Their lives represented an alternative model of womanhood that diverged from the domestic expectations of 19th-century New England. While Una’s own personal life included an engagement to Storrow Higginson in 1867, her intellectual and creative aspirations were clearly shaped by the "freedom of life" she observed among these female artists in Rome.
Una Hawthorne died in London in 1877 at the age of 33 and was later reinterred near her father at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.
References:
 A Sisterhood of Sculptors: American Artists in Nineteenth-Century Rome Paperback – May 15, 2015 by Melissa Dabakis |
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