Design for 6 seat Rockaway, no. 3972
1886
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 1/8 x 8 5/8 in. (15.6 x 21.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.1078
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century coachbuilding with *Design for 6 Seataway, no. 3972* by Brewster & Co., in 1886. This delicate drawing depicts a luxurious six-seat Rockaway carriage—a four-wheeled pleasure vehicle with a folding top, by affluent families for leisurely drives. Brewster & Co., New York's premier carriage makers from 1827 to 1930s, catered to high society, crafting bespoke vehicles that blended functionality with opulent style during the Gilded Age. Rendered in pen and black ink with watercolor and gouache on a modest 6 1/8 x 8 5/8 in. sheet, the design showcases pre...
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...