Chair

Herter Brothers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cabinetmaker Gustave Herter immigrated to America in 1848, joining thousands of Germans fleeing famine, a depressed economy, and political upheaval. Gustave’s younger brother, Christian, arrived in 1859, and the pair formed the esteemed furniture and decorating company, Herter Brothers, in 1864. This chair, which features fluted front legs, carved swans’ heads, and music-themed marquetry plaques, is in the Néo-Grec style – an eclectic combination of Greco-Roman and Egyptian motifs briefly popular immediately following the Civil War.

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