Frederick Keppel & Co. was founded in 1868 in New York City. The firm had its roots in book dealing, prints, and paintings. In 1940, it merged with Arthur Harlow & Co. (est. 1911) to form Harlow, Keppel & Co., located at 670 5th Avenue. William Macbeth worked his way up through the firm before leaving to establish the Macbeth Gallery in 1892. In 1901 Freer purchased Design for the Coloring of a Room, an interior decorative color scheme in watercolor by Whistler, from Keppel & Co.