Design for Cabriolet or Victoria, no. 3843
1883
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 9/16 x 8 7/8 in. (16.7 x 22.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.401
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century luxury transport with *Design for Cabriolet or Victoria, no. 3* by Brewster & Co., a New York carriage maker founded in 1810. Created in 1883, this precise drawing captures a versatile horse-drawn vehicle—either a nimble two-wheeled cabrio with a folding top or a stately four-wheeled Victoria favored by high society. At just 6 9/16 x 8 7/8 inches, it exemplifies the firm's meticulous design process during the Gilded Age, when opulent carriages symbolized wealth and refinement for America's elite. Brewster & Co. crafted bespoke vehicles for figures l...
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...