Design for Slat Side Phaeton
1850–70
Medium
Pen and black ink, watercolor and gouache with gum arabic
Dimensions
sheet: 6 3/16 x 9 1/16 in. (15.7 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
23.112.2089
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of mid-19th-century American carriage design with *Design for Slat Sideaeton* by Brewster & Co., a premier New York firm renowned for crafting luxury horse-drawn vehicles for the elite Created between 1850 and 1870, this drawing captures the "phaeton," a lightweight, open four-wheeled carriage favored for leisurely drives, distinguished here by its slatted sides for ventilation and style. Brewster & Co., founded in 1810, epitomized opulent coachbuilding, serving presidents and tycoons, and this piece reflects the era's blend of functionality and fashion just before ...
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...