Drexel & Co.’s Family Origins

The self-portrait above shows painter Francis Martin Drexel with his wife Catherine Hookey and their oldest daughter Mary Johanna. Drexel, Francis Martin, 1792-1863. Self-portrait With Family. Circa 1824. Painting. Oil, on canvas. Purchased with funds from Drexel Family Descendants. The Drexel Founding Collection. Drexel University. 2003.001.0001.

When Francis Martin Drexel came to Philadelphia in 1817 he intended to make his living as a painter, as he had during a tumultuous youth spent avoiding French military conscription in his native Austria.

Find out more about Francis M. Drexel’s early years and his travels in South America.

In 1837 he changed his family’s fortune forever when he left portraiture behind and focused his efforts on building a currency brokerage firm. The firm’s success grew as Francis and his wife Catherine Hookey Drexel raised their six children in Philadelphia. Under the direction of their son Anthony, Drexel & Co. would become one of the most lucrative private banks of the 19^th century.