Auguste Pottier

Louis Amateis

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This portrait bust of Auguste Pottier (1823-1896) was no doubt one of Amateis’s first efforts after he arrived in New York from his native Italy in 1883. Although it is uncertain how artist and sitter met, both were involved with work for city architectural firms, Amateis doing architectural sculpture and Pottier interior furnishings. Born in France, Pottier established a successful career as a decorator and designer of furniture, and in 1859 formed a partnership with William P. Stymus, a well-known cabinetmaker. Pottier and Stymus Manufacturing Company was, with Herter Brothers and Leon Marcotte, among the leading interior decorating establishments in the United States. In addition to his cabinetmaking pursuits, Pottier was among the first hundred Patrons of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art