
You could visit The Met’s American Wing a thousand times and still stumble upon something you’ve never noticed before. This distinguished Museum department holds stewardship over some 20,000 works of art, from monumental paintings to miniature masterpieces by craftspeople of diverse backgrounds who lived between the colonial and early modern periods of American history.


Triumphs of the fine and decorative arts abound in the galleries, and period rooms provide a glimpse into American life through the centuries.


Meanwhile, stately sculptures, eye-catching jewels, and shimmering gold, silver, glass, and ceramic vessels catch the natural light flooding the Charles Engelhard Court.


With so many splendors vying for our attention, one could incidentally overlook the Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art, the American Wing’s open storage and installation space located in the mezzanine of the American Wing.


The Luce Center is teeming with treasures that supplement the artworks and objects on view in the main galleries. The collection is arranged by material—including painting, sculpture, furniture, glass, ceramics, and metalwork—and these categories are then organized by chronology and form.


With the exception of light-sensitive pieces such as textiles and works on paper, most of what’s exhibited in the Luce Center remains on long-term view. This makes it an ideal resource for our designers, who scour the Museum's collection in search of head-turning pieces that can not only be reimagined into contemporary items, but appreciated in their original glory.


One such example in the Luce Center is an opulent side chair made by the renowned cabinetmaking firm Herter Brothers (German, active New York, 1864–1906). It was one of a pair fashioned around 1870 for the residence of the extremely wealthy industrialist William H. Vanderbilt, who eventually moved them to the boudoir of his sprawling new Fifth Avenue mansion spanning a whole city block between 51st and 52nd Street.
Notable among the chair's luxurious details are the turned legs and ionic capitals, as well as the graceful swan forms at the crest rails.


Vanderbilt commissioned Herter Brothers to decorate the entirety of his new residence, so they refreshed the existing chairs with different upholstery. The custom fabric, manufactured in France, exhibits nature motifs, such as water-lily blossoms and dragonflies, popular in Japanese art.
Our American Gilded Age jewelry picks up the striking gold-and-green palette of the chair, evoking the rich color of its updated upholstery with natural jasper stones.


Of course, the American Wing at large has inspired numerous Met Store designs. Our Sublime Landscapes collection, which includes a large, luxurious scarf as well as home decor, honors the Hudson River School, the 19th-century group who celebrated the majestic Northeastern wilderness as a source of patriotism and pride.




Then there's Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848–1933), whose incomparable—and plentiful—creations inform so many of our best-selling scarves, stationery, and home accents.


Offering fascinating insight into one of the visionaries who brought Tiffany & Co. to unparalleled heights of originality and success, Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. is a richly illustrated book edited by The Met's Medill Harvey, the Ruth Bigelow Wriston Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts and Manager of The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art. It's the first study of Moore’s life and influence on the legendary brand, and it's available for purchase both in-store and online.


Moore and his extraordinary personal collection are the subject of a highly anticipated exhibition opening at The Met Fifth Avenue on June 9, 2024.
Shop our full range of items inspired by the American Wing in-store and online.