The artist received his primary training at the National Academy around 1838 and was voted an Associate in the Academy in 1849. Stearns was elected Recording Secretary of the Academy in 1851, a post that he held until 1865. He died in Brooklyn in 1885.
Still Lifes, such as A Branch of Cherries, are very rare in the artist's oeuvre. Stearns is primarily remembered as a portrait and historical narrative painter. His most noted works are a series of works focusing on the life of President George Washington.