Design for Vis-à-vis/ Caleche, no. 957
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache
Dimensions
5 3/4 x 8 13/16 in. (14.6 x 22.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.1541
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate design drawing from Brewster & Co., created between 1850 and 1870, presents an elegant proposal for a vis-à-vis caleche, a graceful open carriage designed for face-to-face seating. Executed in pen and black ink with watercolor and gouache, the compact sheet captures the vehicle’s flowing lines, ornate detailing, and balanced proportions. The medium allows the designer to suggest both structure and color, offering clients a vivid preview of the finished coach. Brewster & Co. ranked among America’s foremost carriage makers in the mid-nineteenth century, supplying fashionable New Y...
About the Artist
Brewster & Co.|Channing Britton
**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...