Design for 2 seat Phaeton, no. 3034
1874
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 7/8 x 9 5/8 in. (17.5 x 24.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.655
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century coachbuilding with *Design for 2 Seataeton, no. 3034* by Brewster & Co., in 1874. This delicate drawing captures the blueprint for a sleek, open phaeton—a lightweight, four-wheeled carriage favored by the American elite for leisurely drives. Perched high with room for two passengers, it exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of New York's premier carriage makers during the Gilded Age, horse-drawn vehicles were symbols of status and speed. Brewster & Co., founded in 1810, dominated the luxury carriage trade, crafting bespoke designs for tycoons and so...
About the Artist
Brewster & Co.
**Brewster & Co.** Brewster & Company, a premier American coachbuilder renowned for its exquisite carriage designs, was established in 1810 in New Haven, Connecticut, by James Brewster (1788–1866). Born in 1788, Brewster trained as a wagonmaker's apprentice starting at age 16 in Northampton, Massachusetts, before relocating to New Haven, where he set up his workshop and quickly gained acclaim for...