Herter brothers biography examples list

Katherine S. New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Although the work of Herter Brothers remains the benchmark against which all other artistic furniture of this period is judged, no detailed study of the firm existed prior to Herter Brothers: Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age, written to accompany an exhibition that originated at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and traveled to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The focus throughout is upon the lives and influence of Gustave Herter — and Christian Herter — , who were personally involved with a cabinetmaking business in New York during that twenty-five year period. The book begins with three essays by European scholars who seek to link the work of the Stuttgart-born and trained Herters to contemporary developments in the European furniture trade.

In Germany during the second quarter of the century, the development of large shops, staffed by highly skilled specialists trained under the old guild-enforced, small-shop tradition and working for a competitive national market, led to a distinctive design philosophy that stressed the combination of different decorative techniques such as carving, inlay, marquetry, and metal or ceramic mounts.

Herter brothers biography examples list: A pair of German-born

As a result, artistic success was not judged by stylistic unity but by explicit celebration of lavish materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and extraordinary detail. Bombast reigned over stylistic coherence or restraint. When economic and political disruptions provided the catalyst for their emigration in , these German furniture makers brought highly developed skills and a specific craft-based sense of design with them to New York City.

Her discussion, therefore, supersedes the two earlier essays. Each of these topics deserves specific focus and investigation in a separate essay.