Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2010.12 |
Object Name |
Engraving |
Title |
Portrait of William P. Dewees, M.D. |
Artist |
Neagle, John |
Artist 2 |
Brown, M.E.D. |
Date |
after 1833 |
Description |
Three-quarter length engraving of a standing figure facing forward, head turned slightly to his left, his right hand holding a rolled up paper, and his left hand resting on a table with two books, a couple of inkwells, and a quill. Figure has short dark hair and wears a short buttoned up jacket, shirt, neckcloth, a cravat, and breeches. Behind him on the left is a column, a chair, stools and wall of paintings in rear right. Under engraving: "Drawn on Stone by MED Brown from the original picture by John Neagle/Wm. P. Dewees M.D./ &c &c &c &c/ Printed by Childs & Lehman/Entered according to Act of Congress 1833 by John Neagle at the clerk's office of the District Court of the Eastern District of PA." |
Label |
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the delivery of babies fell largely under the purview of female midwives because social conventions strictly prohibited men from participating in what was seen as a private and female process. This convention changed largely because of the physician in this portrait, William Potts Dewees. Born in 1768 in Pottsgrove (now Pottstown), Pennsylvania, Dewees attended the University of Pennsylvania and became the first Philadelphia physician to deliver babies regularly. Dewees believed that women’s and infants' health was more important than the conventions and, in 1824, published the first American obstetrics textbook, "A Compendious Study of Midwifery." He significantly changed the attitude towards obstetrics in the United States, increasing women's and infants' chances of surviving delivery. Dewees was elected to the APS in 1810. In 1833, he was painted by John Neagle, a well-known artist in Philadelphia, as part of his project to paint portraits of the medical faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Planning on nine portraits, which he would then have engraved and sold to the public, Neagle stopped after the first two (this portrait, and that of Nathaniel Chapman, 2010.13) because of lack of public support. This portrait was considered Neagle’s most accomplished work and was reproduced by painter and lithographer M.E.D. Brown. |
Medium |
Engraving |
Dimensions |
H-15.5 W-10.25 inches |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century physician |