Teaching watercolor of microscopic view of human cells, 1848-1854

Dublin Core

Title

Teaching watercolor of microscopic view of human cells, 1848-1854

Subject

Henry Jacob Bigelow Watercolor Collection
Wallis, Oscar
Bigelow, Henry Jacob, 1818-1890
Harvard Medical School Department of Anatomy
Fitz, Reginald, 1885-1953
Cells
Erythrocytes

Abstract

Teaching watercolor of microscopic view of human cells. Cells are painted in white circle surrounded by black border that forms a square, presumably to mimic the view when looking down a microscope. All cells are painted in grey, except single red blood cell, painted red, for scale. Watercolor is framed in green sewn textile, with metal grommets in each of the four corners.

Creator

Bigelow, Henry Jacob, 1818-1890
Wallis, Oscar

Date Created

1848-1854

Rights

The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all the materials in the collection. For use information, contact the Warren Anatomical Museum Curator at chm@hms.harvard.edu

Access Rights

Accessing collections in the Warren Anatomical Museum and the Warren Anatomical Museum archive requires advanced notice. Please submit a request to Public Services at chm@hms.harvard.edu to access the displayed item

Is Part Of

Warren Anatomical Museum (WAM 21142.413)

Format

image

Extent

1 Painting

Medium

Watercolors (paintings)

Type

still image

Identifier

WAM 21142.413

Provenance

Henry Jacob Bigelow employed artist Oscar Wallis exclusively from 1848 - 1854 to paint a series of large teaching watercolors to illustrate Bigelow's lectures at Harvard Medical School. Wallis painted the teaching diagrams from local subjects and from the atlases of established medical authorities. The effort cost Bigelow $6,000. In 1890 Bigelow presented the watercolors to Reginald H. Fitz to be used in the Harvard Medical School's Department of Anatomy. The watercolors were transferred into the Warren Anatomical Museum between 1890 and 1930.

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Physical Dimensions

100 W x 139 H cm

Files

21142_413_v2.JPG

Citation

Bigelow, Henry Jacob, 1818-1890 and Wallis, Oscar, “Teaching watercolor of microscopic view of human cells, 1848-1854,” OnView, accessed March 28, 2024, https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/13755.