Anthony J. Drexel, (sculpture).

Anthony J. Drexel, (sculpture).

Ezekiel, Moses Jacob, Sir, 1844-1917, sculptor.

Unknown (Germany), founder.

Anthony J. Drexel, (sculpture).

1904. Dedicated June 17, 1905. Relocated Dec. 1966.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: marble.

Sculpture: approx. 66 x 54 x 60 in.; Base: approx. 120 x 96 x 120 in.

(Sculpture, proper right front, on oriental carpet near base:) M. Ezekiel (Base, front:) ANTHONY J. DREXEL / A SON OF PHILADELPHIA WHO/ DID HONOR TO HIS NATIVE CITY/ BY THE UPRIGHTNESS OF HIS/ LIFE HIS INTEGRITY AS A/ GREAT FINANCIER AND HIS/ GENEROUS INTEREST/ IN THE PUBLIC/ WELFARE (Base, left side:) FOUNDER OF THE DREXEL/ 1826 1893 (Base, rear:) INSTITUTE OF ART/ PRESENTED TO THE CITIZENS/ OF PHILADELPHIA BY HIS FRIEND JOHN H. HARJES/ 1904/ (Base, right side:) SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY/ 1826 1893 signed

Portrait of Anthony Drexel seated in a "Savonarola" style chair which is placed on top of an oriental rug. He is dressed in a suit and is depicted with a balding head and a moustache. He looks down to his proper left and leans forward slightly with both of his arms resting on the arms of the chair. He holds a scroll in his proper left hand and a quill pen in his proper right hand. At his feet, on his proper left side, is a small container which holds several scrolls. The statue is mounted on a tall granite base

Portrait male -- Drexel, Anthony Joseph -- Full length

Occupation -- Monetary -- Banker

Occupation -- Monetary -- Philanthropist

Object -- Other -- Writing Tool

Object -- Furniture -- Chair

Object -- Other -- Rug

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Administered by Drexel University, 33rd & Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Located Drexel University Near library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Formerly located Fairmount Park, Belmont & Lansdowne Avenues, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1905-1966.

Anthony J. Drexel was a Philadelphia philanthropist who was President of the Fairmount Park Art Association for its first twenty-one years. This sculpture of him was commissioned and given to the City of Philadelphia by John H. Harjes, a business partner of Anthony J. Drexel. The piece was originally unveiled in Fairmount Park at Belmont and Lansdowne Avenues, but in December of 1966 it was relocated to Drexel University, near the university's library. According to the SOS! survey, the sculpture was placed on indefinite loan to the University. Ezekiel carved the base in Rome while the sculpture was cast in Germany.

Public Monument Conservation Project, 1986.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Drexel University Museum Collection, 1976.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 215.

Bach, Penny Balkin, "Public Art in Philadelphia," Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pg. 210.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1993.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, PA5132, 1989.

Monumental News, March 1903, pg. 176.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 215.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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