Life and Career of Fredrick Paul Keppel

1875

Frederick Paul Keppel is born in Staten Island New York, the first child of Frederick Keppel (1844-1912) and Frances Matilda Keppel (1854-1941).

1890s

FPK’s lifelong fascination with prints begins while working at his father’s print dealership, Frederick Keppel & Co (established 1868).  The dealership specialized in both contemporary and Old Master’s prints, including Nanteuil.

 

1898

FPK graduates with a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University.

 

1908

Frederick Keppel & Co. holds a solo exhibition of Nanteuil’s engravings.

 

1910-1918

FPK is the Dean of Columbia College.

1912

FPK’s younger brother, David Keppel, takes charge of Frederick Keppel & Co after the death of their father.

 

1918-1920

FPK begins to collect Nanteuil. He purchases some prints in Paris following his appointment as the Third Assistant Secretary of War during World War One, as well as during his tenure as the Director of Foreign Operations for the American Red Cross following the end of the War.

 

1922-1941

FPK is President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

 

1929

American artist Leopold Seyffert (1887-1956) paints the portrait of FPK.

 

1920s & 1930s

Keppel buys a significant number of Nanteuil prints from prominent dealers in the US and abroad, including M. Knoedler & Co. in New York, Goodspeed's Bookshop in Boston, and Paul Prouté in Paris.

 

1943

By the end of FPK’s time at the Carnegie Corporation, a total of forty-two Nanteuil prints were displayed throughout the enterprise’s offices, indicating the personal significance of these prints to Keppel. FPK passes away this year in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of 67.

 

1947

The Columbia Daily Spectator reports in its November 3rd issue that Mrs. Frederick P. Keppel (1880-1961) donated to Columbia a large collection of prints by Robert Nanteuil. The article indicates that the gift included a portrait of the architect Antoine Le Paultre drawn by Nanteuil; however, no such drawing has been located in the Columbia collection, though the artist did engrave Le Paultre’s portrait (Columbia owns some impressions).