HARVEY CUSHING

Superb Photograph Signed, "W.R. Bett / with the sincere regards of / Harvey Cushing," in the lower right. Usually referred to as "The Sketch," the famous Richard U. Light photograph, taken about 1930, shows Cushing, still wearing his surgical gown and rubber gloves, writing notes and/or making drawings of an operation just concluded, his fine boned face reflected in profile in the mirror behind him. He is on the left-hand side of the photograph, dramatically off center, with the mirror reflecting his image in the center. The black and white photograph measures 9 * inches wide by 7 inches high.

The image captures Cushing's post-surgery routine: "Following the operation, Cushing would retreat to the dressing room to dictate the operative note, and to sketch the salient points of the operation, often in two or three drawings. Still robed in gown and gloves, he would have tea and toast before returning to the operating room to do the dressings on earlier patients" (Richard U. Light, "Cushing at the Brigham. A Photographic Essay," no. 8, in A Bibliography of the Writings of Harvey Cushing, 3rd ed.).

Framed (with a cream inner mat and a gray outer mat, in a silver frame) dimensions: 15 7/8 inches wide by 13 3/4 inches high.

This item is associated with the following category in our inventory:

• Medicine