ATTRIBUTED TO HERTER BROTHERS (W. 1864-1906), NEW YORK, CIRCA 1874

The present pair of chairs is an exquisite example of the well-developed Anglo-Japanese style at the height of the Aesthetic movement. Noted to have been commissioned by the Astor family and later owned by “Viscount Astor” at the time of its sale in 1996, this pair of chairs was probably made for John Jacob Astor III (1822-1890). His New York City mansion was located at 338 Fifth Avenue, later the site of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and subsequently the Empire State building. As the cabinet lot 33 in this sale indicates, Astor was a patron of the Herter Brothers firm which was known for its finely-executed furniture in various eclectic and historical styles. Half-brothers Gustav and Christian Herter produced highly-prized unique works and interiors for America’s newly established elite class of industrialists and financiers. The present pair directly relates to single examples at The Cleveland Museum of Art (acc. no. 1982.5) and the Detroit Institute of Arts (acc. no. 1990.13) with its stylized sunflower and spiky leaf decoration at the crest rail. It also closely resembles one that was supplied to the White House in the 1882-83 redecoration of the Red Room during the Arthur presidency and to an example at the Cooper Hewitt Museum (acc. no. 2010-5-1).