Half Panel Sleigh #3806
1883
Medium
Pen and black in, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 5/8 x 9 1/16 in. (16.8 x 23 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1923
Accession Number
23.112.1212
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th American luxury transport with *Half Panel Sleigh #6*, a meticulously rendered design drawing by the esteemed carriage makers Brewster & Co., created in 1883. This compact sheet (6 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.) captures the lines of a half-panel sleigh—a refined winter vehicle prized for its lightweight wooden body and graceful curves, ideal for snowy city streets or country estates. Produced by New York's premier coachbuilders, known for outfitting the elite like the Vanderbilts, this piece exemplifies the Gilded Age's blend of functionality and opulence. Brewster & C...
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...