The Third-Class Carriage

The Third-Class Carriage is a c. 1862–1864 oil on canvas painting by Honoré Daumier, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A similar painting by Daumier with the same title is in the National Gallery of Canada.

The Third-Class Carriage
Artist	Honoré Daumier
Year	1862–1864
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	65.4 cm × 90.2 cm (25.7 in × 35.5 in)
Location	Metropolitan Museum of Art

Daumier had drawn and painted images of rail travel since the 1840s. This version of The Third-Class Carriage appears to be closely related to an 1864 watercolor now in the Walters Art Museum. The painting is unfinished, and is squared for transfer.

The Third-Class Carriage evidences Daumier's interest, as also seen in his graphic works, in the lives of working-class Parisians. Third-class railway carriages were cramped, dirty, open compartments with hard benches, filled with those who could not afford second or first-class tickets. In the bench facing the viewer are seated, from left, a woman holding her baby, an older woman with her hands clasped atop a basket, and a young boy asleep. Seated behind them are anonymous rows of women and men.

The painting entered the Metropolitan Museum in 1929 as part of the H. O. Havemeyer bequest.