Design for 6 seat Phaeton, no. 3582
1880
Medium
Pen and black ink watercolor and gouache
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 15/16 x 9 1/4 in. (17.6 x 23.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.968
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century equestrian luxury with *Design for 6 Seataeton, no. 3582* by Brewster & Co., a masterful 1880 rendering from one of America's premier coachbuilders. This detailed drawing depicts a spacious, open-top phaeton—a lightweight, four-wheeled carriage for leisurely drives or family outings, accommodating six passengers in style. Crafted during the Gilded Age, when horse-drawn vehicles symbolized wealth and status, it captures the pinnacle of pre-automobile transportation for New York's elite. Brewster & Co., founded in 1810 in New York City, was renowned f...
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...