Drop Front Wagon #460à
ca. 1865
Medium
pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 3/8 x 9 1/4 in. (16.2 x 23.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.1971
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century carriage design with *Drop Front Wagon #460*, a exquisite rendering by the renowned New York firm Brewster & Co., circa 1865. Founded in 1810, Brewster & Co was America's preeminent carriage makers, crafting luxurious vehicles for the elite during the post-Civil War. This drawing captures a "drop front wagon," a stylish, lightweight carriage favored for urban outings, with its hinged front panel allowing easy access—perfect for the Gilded Age's fashionable set. Rendered on a modest 6 3/8 x 9 1/4-inch sheet, the work showcases masterful techniques: p...
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...