Design for Omnibus or Wagonette, no. 3636
1880
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 15/16 x 8 5/16 in. (17.6 x 21.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.500
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century coachbuilding with *Design for Omnibus orette, no. 3636* by Brewster & Co., created in 1880. This delicate drawing depicts a sleek, horse-drawn vehicle blending the practicality of an omnibus for transport with the refined style of a wagonette, for urban or country outings during the Gilded Age. by New York's premier carriage makers, Brewster & Co.—founded in 1810 and favored by tycoons like the Vanderbilts—it exemplifies the firm's mastery in crafting luxury conveyances just before automobiles reshaped travel. The artwork's historical significance ...
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...