Drexel in Philly: The Founder’s Fairmount Park

More than 130 years after his death, Anthony’s impact and legacy can still be felt across the city — and you can see it, too. This “Drexel in Philly” series explores some of the historic buildings, institutions, public art and other places that Drexel’s founder — and his large family — built and supported.

This story explores his Fairmount Park connections, and you can also read about his ties to West Philly, Center City and Old City.

America’s first private and nonprofit civic organization for public art and urban design was founded right here in Philadelphia — and Drexel University’s founder was its first president.

Financier and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel led that Fairmount Park Art Association from its creation in 1872 until his death in 1893. The organization commissioned and purchased public art to be installed in Fairmount Park, which opened in 1867; over the past 153 years, the group has expanded to beautify all of Philadelphia.

His legacy can be seen today through the art he approved and the work that continued after his death:

• The 13 artworks from his presidency
• The statue made in his honor
• The sculpture he donated
• The memorial he championed for to honor his friend, a U.S. president
• All the art that came after his death, including works connected to the University

Then: Drexel as President

Anthony’s father, Francis Martin Drexel, had instilled a love of art in his children. The native Austrian had traveled around three continents as a painter before opening the Drexel & Co. bank. Anthony collected art rather than creating it: photographs of his West Philadelphia mansion show rooms filled with art, and his collection was later bequeathed to the University, where it is still displayed today.

Anthony, one of the richest and most philanthropic men in the country, led the prosperous Drexel bank for decades, but preferred to stay out of the public eye. He usually refused to serve publicly on boards or announce his anonymous donations to churches, hospitals, the University of close friend U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (more on their relationship below). Anthony’s high-profile and long-term presidency at the Fairmount Park Art Association was a rare exception.

As noted in a 1922 publication celebrating the Fairmount Park Art Association’s 50th anniversary:

At the time of [the organization’s] foundation, a committee, being assured of [Anthony’s] interest in art and in the welfare of his native city, tendered him the Presidency; he accepted the honor, considering it a distinction, and retained the office until his death, presiding at the meetings of the Board of Trustees and always being willing to give time and attention to the many problems, financial and otherwise, that confronted the management in the early years of its career. In fact it is recognized that the formation and additions to the Permanent Fund [which funded the organization’s activities] were made possible by the knowledge that his guiding hand would ensure stability to its investments.

Art From Anthony’s Presidency: Then and Now

Under Anthony’s leadership the organization purchased, commissioned and installed 13 sculptures in Fairmount Park. Most of those 19^th century statues are still displayed throughout the city. 

At the Philadelphia Zoo:

• “Hudson Bay Wolves” (installed in 1872) by Edward Kemeys. This was the first official acquisition of the Fairmount Park Art Association.

• “The Dying Lioness” (1876) by Wilhelm Franz Alexander Friedrich Wolff.
• “Lioness Carrying to Her Young a Wild Boar” (1886) by Auguste Cain.

In front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art:

• “The Lion Fighter” (1893) by Albert Wolff.
• “The Mounted Amazon Attacked by a Panther” by August Kiss.

In Rittenhouse Square:

• “Lion Crushing a Serpent” (installed in 1892) by Antoine-Louis Barye.

On Kelly Drive:

• “Silenus and the Infant Bacchus” (1885) attributed to Praxiteles.
• “Stone Age in America” (1887) by John J. Boyle.
• “Joan of Arc” (1890) by Emmanuel Frémiet.

In West Fairmount Park:

• “Night” (1872) by Edward Stauch.
• “The Wrestlers” (1885) by unknown artist. This was donated by Anthony (more information below).
• “Major General George Gordon Meade” (1887) by Alexander Milne Calder. This was the organization’s first major commission.
• “Florentine Lions” (1889) by unknown artist.

In East Fairmount Park:

• “Orestes and Pylades Fountain” (1884) by Carl Johann Steinhauser.

A closer look at the Anthony J. Drexel statue, including the papers held in Anthony’s left hand and the rug his chair is placed on. The statue is pictured at its current location outside of Gerri C. LeBow Hall on Market Street.

Anthony J. Drexel Statue: Then and Now

After Anthony’s death on June 30, 1893, the Fairmount Park Art Association held a special meeting to honor his leadership. The organization’s 1894 annual report indicated the desire to honor him: 

Possessed of a strong personality and occupying the highest social rank he was invariably courteous and tolerant in debate, and it is not too much to say that his name and repute gave lustre to the Association….It is, therefore, apparent that in the demise of Mr. Drexel, we suffer the loss of a man in every way fitted by education and rank to lead this organization, and in deploring this fatality it is earnestly desired to accentuate his life, his character, his example.

Celebrations of Anthony’s life and contributions grew larger in size. In 1902, John H. Harjes, Anthony’s partner for the Paris-based Drexel, Harjes & Co bank, commissioned the large bronze sculpture of the founder now installed in front of Gerri C. LeBow Hall on 32^nd and Market streets.

The 18-foot-tall, 4,000-pound sculpture depicts Anthony wearing a full suit and seated in a chair on top of an ornate rug. Documents in his left hand and in a container at his feet supposedly signify his vision for the institution. The statue is similar to one of the few known photographs of the founder: Anthony sitting in a chair on a rug while wearing a suit and holding the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper he co-owned with George W. Childs, an important person in his life who is also in the photograph.

The sculpture is on top of a 45-foot-tall granite base with a short biographical inscription: “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.”

In 1905, the sculpture was placed in West Fairmount Park at the intersection of Lansdowne Drive and Belmont Avenue. For the University’s 75^th anniversary in 1966, the statue was relocated to Drexel’s campus on indefinite loan to the University. Anthony was facing north, to Fairmount Park, when placed at 33^rd and Market Street, but he was positioned to face east, towards his Old City birthplace and business, when the statue was later moved several times to where it stands today. 

“The Wrestlers,” which was donated by Anthony J. Drexel and installed in 1885, can be seen today in West Fairmount Park.

Anthony’s Donated Sculpture: Then and Now

In its early years, the Fairmount Park Art Association acquired several statues cast at the in Paris, France, including “Joan of Arc,” “Silenus and the Infant Bacchus” and “Lion Crushing a Serpent.” In 1885, when Anthony was in Paris, he visited the foundry and purchased “The Wrestlers” to donate to the Fairmount Park Art Association.

“The Wrestlers” had been reproduced in bronze from a first century BC Roman marble statue that was actually a reproduction of a third century BC Greek sculpture lost in antiquity. The Roman reproduction had been found in a vineyard in the 16^th century; purchased and displayed by the Medici family at Villa Medici for the next century; and later transferred to the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, where it remains today. (Another marbled version is in the Louvre Museum in Paris, having been originally installed at the palace of Versailles in the 17^th century.)

Anthony’s “The Wrestlers” statue was installed in 1885 and can be found across the street from the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center in West Fairmount Park.

Ulysses S. Grant Statue: Then and Now 

U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant first met Anthony as a Union Army general in 1863, and they remained close throughout Grant’s two-term presidency (1869–1877) and until his death in 1885. 

Their relationship extended to their families, thanks in part to their neighboring vacation homes in Long Branch, New Jersey. Anthony’s daughter Fannie was a bridesmaid at the 1874 White House wedding of Ulysses’ daughter Nellie, and Ulysses attended the 1872 wedding of Anthony’s daughter Emilie. 

Anthony advised Ulysses on financial matters both personal and professional. He invested the gifts and financial income Ulysses received after the Civil War and helped raise funds to purchase two houses for the Grants: one at 2009 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia in 1865 and one at 3 East 66^th St. in New York City in the 1880s. And while Anthony declined Ulysses’ offer to become Secretary of the Treasury, he still provided counsel and advice to the president.

Ulysses died in an upstate New York cottage owned by Anthony’s younger brother Joseph (it’s now the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage State Historical Site and National Historic Landmark). Anthony served as an pallbearer at his funeral and chaired a Fairmount Park Art Association committee for seven years to fund and create a memorial honoring his friend. A statue was finally commissioned in 1893, the year of Anthony’s death; as noted in association’s 1894 board report, he had “frequently expressed a desire to witness the erection of the memorial to General Grant, undertaken by the Association, and it was mainly due to his effort in this direction that such was about to be accomplished.”

The resulting bronze equestrian statue was installed in 1898 and can be found in East Fairmount Park.

Public Art in Philadelphia and at Drexel University: Then and Now

The Fairmount Park Art Association lives on today as the Association for Public Art (aPA), which expanded its scope to all of Philadelphia in 1906. It has now purchased and displayed over 1,500 pieces of art. The organization also commissioned the first plan to create the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1907 and advocated for the establishment of both the municipal Art Commission in 1911 and America’s first “percent for art” mandate , which was created in 1959 to require builders to spend one percent of construction costs on public art.

Several artists whose work was purchased and displayed by the organization either taught or studied at Drexel, or have had their work displayed as public art on Drexel’s University City Campus.

Alumni with aPA work in Philadelphia:

• Albert Laessle graduated from the Drexel Institute in 1897. In 1919, his “Billy” goat sculpture was installed in Rittenhouse Square and his “Penguins” sculpture at the Philadelphia Zoo. He was commissioned to make the “General Galusha Pennypacker Memorial” installed on Logan Square in 1934. His “Model of Classical Temple” created in 1898 is part of the Drexel Founding Collection at the University.

Artists with aPA work in Philly and at Drexel:

• Henry Mitchell’s “Impala Fountain (Herbert C. Morris Memorial Fountain)” was installed at the Philadelphia Zoo in 1964. In 1975, his statue “Running Free” was purchased by the University for the aforementioned “percent for art” clause. It can be found behind the Drexel Recreation Center on Lancaster Walk.
• Harold Kimmelman’s “Kangaroos” was installed in 1972 at Lawrence Court, between 4th and 5th streets and Spruce and Cypress streets. The University commissioned him to create the “Drexel Book” sculpture installed in today’s Rush Alumni Garden in 1986.
• Eric Berg’s “Gardener’s Cottage Gates” was installed in Rittenhouse Square in 2010. He was commissioned by the University to create the famous “Mario the Magnificent” dragon sculpture installed at 33^rd and Market streets in 2002, and later described the process in a 2019 Q&A article.

Artists with aPA work who have taught at Drexel:

• Cyrus Edwin Dallin taught for a year at the Drexel Institute in the mid-1890s. His “Medicine Man” statue was installed in 1903 and can be found today in East Fairmount Park.
• Phillips Simkin taught at Drexel. His “Philada Book of Just Hours” sculpture, from 1995, can be found at the southwest entrance of the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center.