Satchel Bag— Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, NYC — Archival Black

American Tapestry — Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, NYC — Inspired by Emma Stebbins, Elected Associate National Academician & Florence Vincent Robinson

The designs in this collection are inspired by a circa-1901 postcard—now approximately 125 years old—depicting Bethesda Fountain in New York’s Central Park. At its center is Angel of the Waters, the monumental bronze sculpture by American sculptor Emma Stebbins (1815–1882), unveiled in 1873. The commission was the first New York City public art commission awarded to a woman. The sculpture references the biblical Pool of Bethesda while also commemorating the arrival of fresh water to New York through the Croton Aqueduct. The postcard is held in the collection of the Mayflower Descendants Museum, founded by our creative director and founder, Cherie Behrens, who personally selects the historic works and objects that inspire American Tapestry and creates each design from them. Swipe to see the original postcard.

Meet the New American Art Museum Bringing History into Public View Through Art and Artifacts

The Mayflower Descendants Museum is an American art museum whose holdings bring together a wide range of artists and stories—from talented and emerging artists, some of whom may not yet have been represented in museum collections, to artists whose work was overlooked or little known during their lifetimes, to artists represented in some of the world’s most significant institutional and royal collections.

In the latter category, artists represented in the Museum’s collection can also be found in institutions including the Louvre in Paris; the British Royal Collection; the Victoria and Albert Museum; the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Picture Gallery in Stratford-upon-Avon; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Smithsonian; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.

The Museum’s holdings also include works that have never before been on public view, created by both American and international artists whose art, objects, and stories intersect with the broader American story connected to Mayflower descendants—a diverse global population estimated to number more than 35 million.

The postcard scene was created by American watercolorist Florence Vincent Robinson (1874–1937), known for landscapes, architectural views, and scenes inspired by her travels throughout Europe and North Africa. Robinson studied in Paris with French watercolorist Pierre Vignal and celebrated landscape painter Henri-Joseph Harpignies.

Florence Vincent Robinson is represented in collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, and the Terra Foundation for American Art, with additional works documented in other American institutional collections.

Stebbins was a New York-born artist who first trained as a painter, receiving instruction in oil painting from noted American portraitist Henry Inman before turning to sculpture and studying with Edward Augustus Brackett. She later spent years working in Rome, where she belonged to an extraordinary circle of American women sculptors that included Harriet Hosmer and Edmonia Lewis.

Emma Stebbins is represented in major American collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and The Heckscher Museum of Art, which holds the largest public collection of her sculptures.

About American Tapestry
American Tapestry, founded by Cherie Behrens, is a heritage-driven lifestyle house inspired by historic art and artifacts connected to the American story—often more than a century old—translated into handbags, travel accessories, home décor, jewelry, glassware, games, furniture, textiles, and more. Every design is created by Cherie Behrens and draws inspiration exclusively from works and objects held by the Mayflower Descendants Museum, which she also founded. 

American Tapestry follows the unexpected threads that connect the Museum’s holdings to American art, artifacts, literature, and cultural history. Not every work that inspires a collection was created by an American artist; some enter the American story through research that reveals their ties to American people, objects, and narratives.

To discover the threads behind each collection, visit the Museum at www.mayflowerdescendantsmuseum.org

Through these holdings, we trace the stitches of America’s past—uncovering connections among people, places, objects, art, literature, and history that together reveal an interwoven American tapestry.

Our mission is simple: to bring historic art, design, artifacts, and the stories that intersect with them forward into the present and into everyday life—bringing often‑invisible history into view.

Connect with American Tapestry

Website: www.thehouseofamericantapestry.com
Instagram: @americantapestryofficial
Facebook: American Tapestry
YouTube: @thehouseofamericantapestry
TikTok: @americantapestry
X: @americantapestr

Connect with the Mayflower Descendants Museum
Website: www.mayflowerdescendantsmuseum.org
Instagram: @mayflowerdescendantsmuseum
Facebook: Mayflower Descendants Museum
YouTube: @mayflowerdescendantsmuseum
TikTok: @mayflowermuseum
X: @MayflowerMuseum