Design for Pony Phaeton, no. 3556
1870
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 7/8 x 9 3/8 in. (17.5 x 23.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.896
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century carriage design with *Design for Pony Pha, no. 3556* by Brewster & Co., created in 1870. This delicate drawing captures a sleek, light four-wheeled phaeton intended for ponies—a fashionable vehicle for leisurely drives among the elite. Measuring just 6 7/8 x 9 3/8 inches, it exemplifies the precision of preparatory sketches used by one of America's premier carriage makers, founded in New York in 1810 and favored by figures like the Vanderbilts and Astors. Brewster & Co. revolutionized luxury transport during the Gilded Age, blending craftsmanship wi...
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...