Object Timeline

1901

  • Work on this object began.

1911

  • Work on this object ended.

1960

  • We acquired this object.

2015

2021

2022

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Design for a Closed Automobile

This is a Drawing. It was manufactured by Mühlbacher et fils and drafted by Unknown. It is dated ca. 1906 and we acquired it in 1960. Its medium is graphite, pen and india ink on bristol board. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

The sisters often traveled in a touring car, driven by a chauffeur, with room for luggage and purchases in a rack on the top. This vintage photograph shows the 1905 Renault Town Car owned by Sarah Hewitt. The plaque on the dashboard reads: “Miss Sarah Cooper Hewitt, 9 Lexington Avenue”; the reverse side reads: “Miss Sarah Cooper Hewitt, Hôtel du Rhin, Place Vendôme, Paris.” The French importer’s plaque reads: “Mühlbacher & Fils, Paris.” The drawing was possibly produced for the Hewitts and intended to be installed on a Renault frame.

It is credited Transfer from the Cooper Union Picture Library.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 23.9 × 37.5 cm (9 7/16 × 14 3/4 in.) Mat: 35.6 × 45.7 cm (14 × 18 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Design for a Closed Automobile; Drafted by Unknown; Manufactured by Mühlbacher et fils; France; graphite, pen and india ink on bristol board; H x W: 23.9 × 37.5 cm (9 7/16 × 14 3/4 in.) Mat: 35.6 × 45.7 cm (14 × 18 in.); Transfer from the Cooper Union Picture Library; 1960-9-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Sarah & Eleanor Hewitt: Designing a Modern Museum.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18435483/ |title=Drawing, Design for a Closed Automobile |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>