Design for Cabriolet Phaeton, no. 3193a
1876
Medium
Watercolor and ink
Dimensions
sheet: 5 15/16 x 8 1/8 in. (15.1 x 20.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.692
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century coachmaking with *Design for Cabrioletaeton, no. 3193a* Brewster & Co., a masterful 1876 watercolor and ink drawing now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department. This precise rendering depicts a cabrioleteton—a sleek, open horse-drawn carriage prized for its lightweight frame, folding top, and sporty design, perfect for leisurely drives among the Gilded Age elite. At just 5 15/16 x 8 1/8 inches, the compact sheet captures the phaeton's graceful curves and intricate details, from polished wheels to ornate fittings, as ...
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...