Havemeyer House Armchair
Tiffany & Furniture Design:
H. O. Havemeyer House Armchair
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company
1891-1892
H. O. Havemeyer House Armchair
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY,
TIFFANY GLASS & DECOTATING COMPANY,
1891–1892
In 1891, wealthy art collectors Louisine and Henry Osborne Havemeyer commissioned Louis Comfort Tiffany in partnership with Samuel Colman to decorate their mansion on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East Sixty-Sixth Street in New York City. Tiffany had impressed them with the creative originality he had shown in decorating other residences. They gave Tiffany almost free reign and an unlimited budget. They were his most ardent patrons, and their home was one of his most prestigious decorating projects.
Tiffany used glass lavishly in windows, doors, walls, and elsewhere in the home. He also designed and had fabricated furniture, textiles, and wall coverings for the house, creating a dramatic blend of East and West.
This massive oak chair was designed for the library in the residence. The interlaced strapwork design that repeats itself throughout the carved oak frame and quilted silk velvet
upholstery was inspired by Celtic and Norwegian prototypes. This motif was continued in the room’s mantel, architectural trim, and stenciled wall pattern to ensure a single artistic vision. In her memoir, Mrs. Havemeyer indicated that the chair frame was finished with many coats of varnish buffed to create an effect resembling Japanese lacquer work. The mate to this chair is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.