Vanderbilt Console, c. 1880–1882
Herter Brothers (American, active 1864–1906)
New York, New York
Oak, marble, silverplate, and bronze
44 1/2 x 83 x 24 in. (113.03 x 210.82 x 60.96 cm)
Gift of an anonymous donor and the Friends of the Decorative Arts, 1996.213.a–e

William H. Vanderbilt, son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the family’s steamship and railroad empire, began construction in 1879 on a house at 640 Fifth Avenue in New York City. This console, commissioned for the ground floor atrium of the residence, is one of the finest creations of the Herter Brothers, a prestigious American design firm of the last third of the 19th century. With its combination of rich materials and mammoth scale, the console, originally one of a pair, conveyed to any visitor the power and wealth of the Vanderbilt household.

The console related aesthetically to every room adjoining the atrium. The massive slab top was of the same red African marble used to fabricate the giant central fireplace and to clad the eight square pillars that framed the atrium. The central cupboard section of the console, with its grill of wrought-iron scrollwork and silver stylized chrysanthemums, echoed the motifs of the adjoining “Japanese parlour” and the stair rail leading to the second floor. The carved, ribbon-tied husk swags ending in large silvered loops below the grill could be found in architectural friezes and furniture decoration in both the atrium and library. Finally, the great thermae with carved masques ending in pairs of sandaled human feet supporting each end of the console reflected the so-called Greek Renaissance theme of the overall interior design as well as the specific Egyptian and Grecian elements of the drawing room.

While Mr. Vanderbilt lived to see his palace completed in 1882, he died just three years later, in the library. After undergoing extensive renovation in 1915, the house—a crumbling relic of its glorious past—was torn down in 1946.