ALBERT HERTER (AMERICAN 1871-1950) Preparatory Work for the Tapestry “Saint Nicholas Patron Saint of New York”, 1912 oil on unstretched canvas 206 x 65.5 cm (81 1/4 x 25 3/4 in.) initialed HL (for the Herter Looms company) and dated on verso
LOT NOTES With the creation of the Herter Looms company in 1909, Albert Herter continued his family`s artistic legacy after the eventual closing of his father`s prestigious New York interior design firm, Herter Brothers. In 1912 Albert Herter`s company was commissioned by New York`s historic Hotel McAlpin to produce a series of monumental wall tapestries (by some accounts 26, by others 28) in a cycle titled The Story of New York. The present lot, a preparatory work for Saint Nicholas Patron Saint of New York was created as part of the tapestry production process, and presents the designs in reverse from what was eventually seen on the final work, completed in 1913.
