Red Room Herter Brothers Armchair (Detail)

This is a detail photograph of the Herter Brothers chair First Lady Julia Grant purchased for the Red Room. This is the surviving half of a pair of gilded lady's chairs made by Herter Brothers. The arm rests terminate in carved lion's heads, a motif that appears in other Herter pieces, 11 of which were also made for the Red Room. In 1873-1875, the Grants supervised a major redecoration of the White House in preparation for their daughter Nellies wedding to Englishman Algernon Sartoris. Throughout the staterooms, Herter Brothers, a renowned New York furniture maker, supplied sophisticated furnishings.