Albert Herter

Happy Birthday Albert Herter!! Born in New York City, New York, in 1871, this artist was a painter specializing in murals and tapestry design. His father was an interior designer with a furnishing company. Albert studied in Paris and then at the Art Students League in New York, and owned a tapestry weaving operation. He became a collector and art connoisseur along with his wife Adele, and created an incredible collection housed at the family estate in El Mirasol, California often referred to as the House of Herter Art. The mural I am including here today still hangs in the Supreme Court Room in Madison, Wisconsin, depicting the Signing of the American Constitution, with George Washington sitting in the center in the “rising sun” chair. To his right is Benjamin Franklin and to his left, James Madison with his coat on his arm and talking to Alexander Hamilton, finally, at the desk on his left is James Wilson. Unknown is why Herter chose to include only 19 of the 39 original signers.