John Singer Sargent and The Four Doctors

摘要

January 1907 will mark the centenary of the unveilingnof The Four Doctors, the masterpiece by John SingernSargent (1856–1925) that now hangs in the WelchnMedical Library at the Johns Hopkins UniversitynSchool of Medicine. A detail of the portrait of WilliamnOsler (1849–1919) is shown here (Figure 1); the othersnare the pathologist William Henry Welch (1850–34)nthe surgeon William Steward Halsted (1852–1922) andnthe gynaecologist Howard Atwood Kelly (1958–43)nThe first sitting for the portrait took place at Londonnon 9 June 1905, after which all of the participants metnMrs Osler for lunch at the Carlton. Osler tried to relaxnKelly by offering him a whisky-and-soda, which wasnrefused because Kelly was just embarking on a tour ofntemperance lectures. On meeting Osler, Sargentnexclaimed that he had never before painted a mannwith an olive-green complexion. Welch, who wasnpainted in one sitting, recalled that Sargent talked andnsmoked constantly, and was always walking to andnfro. Tradition holds that Sargent quarrelled with thentaciturn and difficult Halsted to the extent that thenartist resolved to use inferior paints so that thensurgeon would gradually fade out of the picturenHowever, a century later Halsted remains erect andnauthoritative and the paint has not faded.