Herter studied art in Paris, France and at the Art Students League in New York, NY.

His father, Christian, and his half-uncle Gustave, operated the trend-setting interior design firm, Herter Brothers, headquartered in New York, NY.

Albert Herter married Adele McGinnis, also an artist.

A son, Christian Archibald Herter (03/28/1895-12/30/1966), became a notable politician; he served as Governor of MA (1953-1959), part of the Republican wave swept into office by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. Eisenhower subsequently named him Secretary of State, taking over for John Foster Dulles, acting in that role from 1959-1961. One son died in World War I.

Herter painted in all genres, and was well-known for his public murals, including a 1909 commission for a huge theatrical curtain in the Denver Auditorium. On the West Coast, Herter painted "The Pageant of Nations" (1913), a series of 7 murals in The Mural Room of San Francisco's Saint Francis Hotel. Painting of these murals with their international theme coincided with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in the city in 1915. He also did interior decoration of the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA, (1921-1922), 8 murals for the Los Angeles Public Library Downtown Library, Los Angeles, CA, (1928) and others for the Warner Brothers Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA, (1928).