In 1957, Alexander Girard designed the interior of the legendary Miller House and decorated the so-called 'conversation pit' in the living room with specially embroidered pillow covers. The Embroidered Pillows feature motifs from the vast store of graphic images by Girard.

Alexander Girard was educated in Europe as an architect. Returning to the United States in 1932, his designs defined a new kind of "opulent modernism", a look that became synonymous with 1960s America. His pioneering work in fabric design as well as his innovative commercial and residential interiors, captivated the public with their theatricality. Girard described himself as "a reasonable and sane functionalist, tempered by irrational frivolity."