Design for Landau, no. 1011
1850–70
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (16.8 x 25.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.1600
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century coachmaking with *Design for Landau, no 1011* by Brewster & Co., a New York firm renowned for crafting luxurious horse-drawn carriages for America's elite. Created between 1850 and 1870, this detailed drawing captures the firm's meticulous approach to designing a Landau—a four-wheeled carriage with a roof, favored for its versatility in both open-air promenades and inclement weather. At just 6 5/8 x 9 7/8 inches, it exemplifies the precision of industrial design in an era when carriages were symbols of status and engineering prowess. Brewster & Co.,...
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...