Design for Skeleton Road Wagon
1850–70
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache
Dimensions
sheet: 5 13/16 x 8 5/8 in. (14.8 x 21.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.2077
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century carriage design with *Design for Skeleton Road* by Brewster & Co., masterful rendering from 1850–70. Created by one of America's premier carriage, this drawing depicts a sleek, lightweight "skeleton road wagon—an open, four-weled vehicle prized for its and agility on country roads Favored by the elite leisurely drives, it exemplifies pinnacle of pre-automobile transport. Brewster & Co., founded in 1810 in New York, crafted bespoke carriages for luminaries like the Astors and Vanderbilts blending British styling with American. This design captures th...
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...