Franz Martin Drexel

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Franz Martin Drexel (later also: Francis Martin Drexel , born April 7, 1792 in Dornbirn , Hatlerdorf , † June 5, 1863 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an Austrian-American painter and banker .

Life

Portrait of the Peruvian Blas Cerdeña, painted by Franz Martin Drexel

Franz Martin Drexel was born the son of the businessman Franz Josef Drexel (February 5, 1762-1820) and Magdalene Drexel (born Wilhelm, February 6, 1767-1832).

Drexel went to the monastery school of Saronno (near Turin , Italy ) in 1803 at the age of eleven to learn Italian, French and the basics of the business profession. When he returned to Austria in 1809, this was occupied by France / Bavaria and to avoid military service he went to Switzerland and Paris . In 1812 he lived in Bern , among other places, and continued his studies in painting. Around 1815, after Vorarlberg again belonged to Austria, he lived in Dornbirn for a short time and tried his hand at painting. He left Dornbirn on April 2, 1817 and emigrated to the USA on May 16, 1817 via Basel and Amsterdam on board the "John of Baltimore" . He landed and settled in Philadelphia Harbor on July 28, 1817, opened a studio at 131 South Front Street, and became a respected portrait painter and drawing teacher for nearly a decade .

Drexel left the USA on May 15, 1826 because of defamation and visited South America for a long time (e.g. Ecuador , Peru and Chile - he had a studio in Valparaíso in 1826), and made a large number of portraits of well-known personalities, including General Simon Bolivar or Bernardo O'Higgins . After stops in Philadelphia (1830 to 1835), he went to South America twice and also to Mexico and Central America .

He then settled in Philadelphia at the age of 46 and founded a brokerage business in Louisville ( Kentucky ) in 1837 and, on January 1, 1838, the later bank Drexel & Company in Philadelphia, which developed into one of the largest banking institutions in the USA. The bank's business strategy was very serious and conservative. In 1850 Drexel moved to San Francisco in the wake of the California gold rush and founded the Drexel, Sather & Church company. He stayed in California until 1857. His three sons continued their father's banking business. The Paris company Drexel, Harjes & Co. was founded in 1868 and the New York company Drexel, Morgan & Co. in 1871 together with John Pierpont Morgan (1895 JP Morgan & Company).

He died in a railway accident.

family

He married Catherine Hookey on April 23, 1821 (April 6, 1795 - September 21, 1870). The following children are from the marriage:

  • Mary Johanna Drexel (1822–1873),
  • Francis Anthony Drexel (June 20, 1824– February 15, 1885, father of St. Katharine Maria Drexel ),
  • Anthony Joseph Drexel (September 13, 1826-1893, who founded Drexel University (Drexel Industrial Institute)), successor to his father in the company, since 1847 partner.
  • Joseph William Drexel (January 24, 1833–1888), representative of his father's company in Germany , since 1867 partner in the banking house D., Harjes & Company in Paris, co-founder of Garfield National Bank and director of ten other US American banks, president of Philharmonic Society in New York and Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art .
  • Heloise Drexel (1837–1895),
  • Caroline "Carrie" Drexel (1838-1911),

literature

  • Michel Benisovich, Franz Martin Drexel from Dornbirn , Bregenz 1965, year book / Vorarlberger Landesmuseumsverein, Freunde der Landeskunde, 1964/65, pp. 45–66, ISSN  1011-8748 .
  • Claudia Helbok: Important Vorarlbergers. 30 life pictures from a series (= Dornbirner Studiohefte. 2). ORF regional studio Vorarlberg, Dornbirn 1967, p. 33 f.
  • Hubert Lenz, Lydia Moser, Saint Katharine Drexel , Nenzing 2007;
  • Elsa Loacker-Jones, Franz Martin Drexels America Years , Bregenz 1969, year book / Vorarlberger Landesmuseumsverein, Friends of Regional Studies, 1968/69, pp. 66–83, ISSN  1011-8748 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Hatlerstrasse 7 - today the Hotel Bischof has stood on the site of the birthplace since 1980.
  2. ↑ In Peru, Drexel is said to have been a guest of the commandant of Callao , José Vivero, for a long time .
personal data
SURNAME Drexel, Franz Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Drexel, Francis Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-American painter and banker
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1792
PLACE OF BIRTH Dornbirn , Hatlerdorf
DATE OF DEATH June 5, 1863
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania