Originally commissioned by John J. Herrick, Tarrytown, New York, for whom A. J. Davis designed a villa called "Ericstan" in 1855-59. In 1865, the house was sold out of the Herrick family still furnished, and this chair was passed down by the descendants of a later owner of the house, Alfredric Smith Hatch (1829-1904). He and his family are the subject of the American Wing's famous portrait The Hatch Family (1870-71) by Eastman Johnson (26.97) Jane Davies acquired a pair of chairs from Claudia Hatch Stearns, who had inherited them from her aunt, Emily Hatch, who is the baby in the painting. After Jane Davies' death in February, 2000, the pair of oak chairs, and one walnut chair of the same design but unknown origins, were put on loan to the American Wing by Ms. Davies' two nephews and one niece, who have now made a promised gift of one of the oak chairs.
