Tag Archives: William H Vanderbilt

Pink Thing of The Day: Pink Herter Brothers Armchair

Velvet Armchair
Photo By Gail

Each time Geoffrey and I visit The Met, we end up in a section of the Museum that we’ve not only never seen before, but often have no idea that it even existed. On our last exhibit, we randomly wandered into the Art Furniture Galleries (or whatever they’re called), and that was fairly mind blowing. Check out this very ornate, and still quite comfy-looking, pink velvet armchair, which was once owned by William H. Vanderbilt, where it was part of a lavish drawing room. Designed and manufactured by Herter Brothers circa 1881-82, the chair features gilded wood, with beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay details (clearly visible in the photo above), still has its original patterned, pink velvet upholstery, and is simply stunning.

Photographed in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.