Design for Dog Cart or 2 Wheeler, no. 4145
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache
Dimensions
sheet: 6 5/16 x 9 1/2 in. (16 x 24.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.634
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, as America's Gilded Age flourished, luxury carriage makers like Brewster & Co. of New York crafted exquisite horse-drawn vehicles for the elite. This 1891 design drawing for a "Dog Cart or 2 Wheeler, no. 4145," attributed to the firm and draftsman Herman Stahmer, exemplifies their meticulous approach. Brewster & Co., founded in 1810, was renowned for bespoke carriages that blended functionality with elegance, serving clients like the Vanderbilts and Astors. A dog cart, typically a light two-wheeled vehicle for sport or leisure—often pulled by ponies or used for huntin...
About the Artist
Brewster & Co.|Herman Stahmer
**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...