by Juan Garcia

Howard Bartner with former students, photo by Ted Kucklick

Howard Bartner, a part-time Associate Professor in the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine was honored at the 2011 Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) annual meeting in Baltimore with the Max Brödel Award for Excellence in Education.

Before coming to Hopkins, Howard received both a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Elkins Tyler School of Fine Art as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree from Temple University. Howard graduated from the Hopkins Program with a certificate in 1958. Back in 1959, under Ranice Crosby’s directorship, the Hopkins program approved a Master of Arts degree. And rumor had it during the Department’s 100th year celebration, that Howard may have influenced Ranice to lobby administration for the degree. Unfortunately for him, this came too late, so in 1969, he fulfilled the additional requirement for the MA degree. After graduating from Hopkins, Howard went on to dedicate his entire professional career to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and devoted over 50 years of teaching excellence at Hopkins.

While at NIH, Howard mentored many a young medical illustrator in their first employment. This list includes Herb Smith, Barry Baker, Trudy Nicholson, Patricia Kenny, and most recently Donald Bliss, to name a few. Early in his career Howard was recognized by his peers as a very talented artist. As Brent Bauer, a former student and faculty member at Hopkins nicely put it, “He was a quintessential artist above all.” His AMI awards included the Award of Excellence for his work on the Anatomy of the Infant Head.

One cannot speak of Howard’s work without including examples of his beautiful ophthalmological illustrations. The techniques used to create such a piece clearly mirror those taught by his teacher at Hopkins, noted ophthalmological illustrator, Annette Burgess. Most of Howard’s artwork is characterized by an accomplished confident loose rendering style.

When Annette retired in 1962, Ranice invited Howard to join the Hopkins faculty as a part time instructor. He has taught Ophthalmological Illustration to every graduate of the program since that time. In 1997 Howard received the National Eye Institute Director’s Award for recognition and appreciation for his special achievements. During the 2000 Hopkins Medical School Graduation Ceremony, Howard received the Ranice W. Crosby Distinguished Achievement Award for his teaching role in our program as well as his numerous scholarly contributions as a medical illustrator.

It is said that: “Teachers who inspire know that teaching is like cultivating a garden, and those who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers.” We truly believe teachers like Howard continue to inspire others by his example. Most of us would not have blossomed as well had it not been for master gardeners like Howard. So for this we want to thank and congratulate Howard.

By: Mike Belknap



Robert C. Benassi



I am honored as a colleague and a friend to introduce this year’s 2011 recipient of The Association of Medical Illustration’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Robert C Benassi. Bob was a prolific medical illustrator working to promote the advancement of medical illustration.

Robert Charles Benassi and his sister, Florence, were born in Duluth, Minnesota to Emily and Charlie Paul Benassi. His father, an immigrant from Italy, was a crane operator in the Duluth shipyards and also a professional fur tapper. He learned this skill from a Chippewa Indian as well as how to survive in the Northern woods of Minnesota. He taught his young son these skills, which would later play a vital role in his survival during WWII.

Shortly after Bob’s graduation from technical school, where he learned technical and mechanical drawing, and simultaneously graduated from high school, he entered into WWII at the age of 18 on April 6, 1943.

During my interview I asked Bob the question that we all ask each other: how did you become interested in medical illustration? To answer this question Bob took me back to June 7, 1944, the second day after D-Day when he waded onto the shores of Omaha Red to begin his march across France into Germany. Bob was assigned to the 29th Army Tactical Air Command where he had two jobs: aiding in coordinating air-ground support for front line troops until the end of the war, and serving as draftsman in creating tactical combat maps, briefing charts, and identifying potential headquarter re-location during their advancements across France and into Germany.

In order to accomplish his job and survive he was assigned two very important pieces of equipment: a weapon to protect himself and a graphics design set, composed of Leroy letter set, mechanical drawing instruments and other drawing instruments to create topographical maps and other graphic material, as required by his commanding officer’s.

During one of his reconnaissance missions he came across German combat aid stations. In these aid stations were pieces of paper that had line drawings illustrating the amputation of the limbs and how to dress head wounds. These illustrations were used as training aids for German medics on how to treat battlefield injuries. It is through this unexpected happening in the most unlikely location of the battlefields of Europe, that Bob discovered his future avocation. These sketches would hold the fascination of this young man throughout the war, as he knew that someday medical illustration would become his lifelong passion. At the end of the war he was honored with 5 Bronze Stars for service to his country, having fought in 5 major campaigns.

Bob returned to Minnesota determined to learn more about the field of medical art. His first stop was to visit Jean Hearst, medical illustrator working for the U of MN. During this interview, Ms. Hearst advised Bob that being a medical illustrator was not a job for a man and tried to dissuade him from pursuing a career that was only suited for women. However he would not be dissuaded.

The next stop and the one that was the closest to Bob geographically was the University of Illinois. There he met Tom Jones, Director of the medical illustration program at the university. The purpose of this interview was to learn more about the field of medical illustration and what academic path he should follow to become a medical illustrator. During this meeting Tom Jones made many recommendations, which equated to having a degree in the sciences. If Bob could graduate with the recommended course curriculum he would consider him as a potential student in his program. So taking his advice he put his nose to the academic grindstone and in 1949 he graduated with a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Minnesota.

Shorty after graduating he married his college sweet heart Rita Nolan in August 1949 to begin their life’s adventure together and raise 5 children.

Upon his graduation from the U of MN he applied to the four programs offering advance training in medical illustration: John Hopkins; University of Illinois; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas; and the newly formed program at Medical College of Georgia. The first school he heard from was MCG. The MCG director of medical illustration at that time was Jack Wilson, former student of Max Broedel from Johns Hopkins University. Jack Wilson was appointed Professor and Director of the newly formed department, which had both an academic and a service unit.

To get the program up and running Jack Wilson asked one of his former art students, George Lynch, to enroll in an experimental non-degree program. George trained under Professor Wilson for 9 months. During this time Professor Wilson’s immediate efforts were directed towards planning a curriculum that would warrant the awarding of the Master of Science degree in Medical Illustration.

Several events took place during the summer leading up to September 1949:

• Bob was accepted as the first student in the newly formed medical illustration program.
• Professor Wilson left for Florida with the prospects of another job.
• Orville A. Parkes was recruited from Duke University to take over what Professor Wilson had established. As a point of interest, Orville A. Parkes and Jack Wilson were classmates and George Lynch was recruited to replace Mr. Parkes at Duke University.

Both student and teacher arrived simultaneously at MCG in September 1949 to begin the School of Medical Illustration. Two years later on June 4, 1951 Bob received his Master of Science in Medical Illustration. Bob would stay on for two additional years in what MCG hoped would be the first Ph.D. program in Medical Illustration.

However, as a newly formed Master of Science Program the potential for making a Ph.D. program was too much so the Board of Regents dissolved the program in favor of expanding the medical illustration program from two years to three years. At the end of Bob’s fourth year MCG awarded Bob with a Certificate of Medical Illustration for his efforts.

After graduating from MCG Bob and Rita moved back to Minneapolis, MN with no job prospects. Like many enterprising individuals, Bob put on a pair of good walking shoes and started making the rounds. His first stop was at the U of MN photographic lab where he hung out at the suggestion of the medical photographer who would introduce Bob to surgeons when they stopped by the lab. He ultimately was introduced to Dr. Owen H. Wangensteen, Chair Department of Surgery, who was working on a surgical atlas and required a medical illustrator. This was Bob’s first big break as a selfemployed medical illustrator. From this chance meeting the stage was set for Bob in surrounding himself with high-energy out-of-the-box innovative thinking surgeons. He was at the right place at the right time.

I would like to introduce you to a few key individuals that Bob would team up with during his life as a self-employed medical illustrator.

Dr. Owen H. Wangensteen, was a pioneer in various types of surgery who trained generations of other surgeons. Medical students from all over the world were attracted to the department because of his strong emphasis on research and laboratory experiment. Through Dr. Wangensteen's leadership the University of Minnesota surgeons played leading roles in pioneering open-heart surgery in the 1950's. All along Bob was working side by side with these surgeons documenting new surgery techniques and medical discovers through illustrations. Through Bob’s skills as a visual communicator and his understanding of anatomy and physiology he was able to take these surgeon’s abstract ideas and concepts and develop them into visual reality.

Another individual that Bob worked with was Dr. Jesse E. Edwards, M.D. a cardiac surgeon, whom he met in 1954 and established a long-term professional relationship that continued for 40 years. Dr. Edwards, a leading cardiac pathologist, assembled a formidable collection of human hearts to let doctors study coronary disease, congenital defects and trauma. Of importance, Dr. Edwards published a three Volume illustrated reference, An Atlas of Acquired Diseases of the Heart and Great Vessels, and a two volume illustrated reference: Congenital Heart Diseases, all illustrated by Bob.

In addition to supporting the U of MN surgical department Bob was introduced to Modern Medicine who wanted him to work full time. However at about the same time Bob’s medical illustration practice was picking up and he did not want to be tied down to one employer. Both Bob and Modern Medicine worked out a deal that met each other’s business objectives.

The last individual I would like to introduce was a very important client that Bob supported with technical drawings was Dr. John J. Wild, who developed the diagnostic ultrasound machine that would ultimately provide pregnant mothers with first image of their unborn children. To this day he is considered the Father of Ultrasound and Bob was his illustrator.
< br /> After 18 years as a self-employed medical illustrator, in 1971, a headhunter recruited Bob to work at the Mayo Clinic as a board artist. This suited Bob as he was looking for a change and to relocate his family. Mayo had such a back log that he was hired to help reduce it. Again, he was the right man for the job. Then in 1973, Vince Destro, then Section Head of Medical Graphics, stepped aside and Bob became section head where he provided leadership for 16 years until 1989. Under his leadership he accomplished the following:

• Provided leadership for one of the largest departments in the United States that created medical and scientific illustrations, computer graphics, medical model and fabrication unit.
• Lead the way for The Mayo Clinic to become the first medical institution in the United States to use computer graphics to generate electronic word slides, charts and graphics and illustration for continuing professional medical education, patient education, and publications.
• He received the William P. Didusch Art Award from the American Urological Association for his illustrative accomplishments and support to the field of Urology.
• Established the Mayo Clinic digital video archival system for cataloging over 60,000 medical illustrations.
• And was instrumental in establishing an institutional policy for copyrighting and maintaining Mayo’s medical illustration as valuable assets for future reuse.

Bob stated that one of great pleasures he enjoyed while at Mayo was the comradeship and professional interaction among his staff. Bob retired in 1995.

The Art of the Critique: Techniques-based tools for critical thinking by Ian Suk, Ziya L. Gokaslan, Gary P. Lees, Corinne Sandone.

Kathleen Jung was awarded the 2011 AMI Outstanding Service Award.

By Alison Burke, meeting photos by Ted Kucklick

This year, our annual meeting was held in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to the impressive program line-up, we also had a beautiful historic venue, and great location near the Inner Harbor and Charles Village.

For many members, including myself, returning to Baltimore for the 2011 AMI Annual Meeting was like visiting an old friend. I received my degree from Hopkins in ‘05 and this was only my second trip back. Approaching Johns Hopkins for the centennial program, on the same yellow school bus I took every day as a student, was both surreal and exciting as I noticed all of the new state-of-the-art buildings that have been erected since my last visit. During the full-day centennial celebration, hosted by the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine, I was inspired to see how graduates of the program have branched out into so many different fields, including molecular visualization, traditional medical illustration, and basic science research—much like our AMI membership. A highlight of the day was the Concert Artists of Baltimore’s performance of selections from “Saturday Night Club,” of which Max Brödel was a member. The music and accompanying talk and slideshow transported me back in time to a Baltimore 100 years ago. Later in the week, everyone who headed to the Brewer’s Art had the chance to sample the “Brödel Brew” that was featured at the centennial dinner.



"Brodel Brew" from the Centennial Dinner, crafted by David Rini and the Brewer's Art.

After attending the centennial, I was eager for the AMI meeting sessions to start. Since I had a sneak peak of the content this year, I was already really looking forward to several of the talks—one being the keynote address by Juan Velasco, Art Director at National Geographic. I was utterly amazed to see the time and painstaking accuracy that goes into a single graphic for National Geographic. Building an entire life-size replica of a Neanderthal just for 2 photos—wow! Drew Berry’s Brödel Memorial lecture was also a treat, especially the exclusive showing of the animations he created for Björk’s new music video. Other highlights of the program included the presentation Gaël McGill and Jodie Jenkinson gave on their research into the way students learn molecular concepts; the very energetic, thoughtful presentation by Katherine Jones on community branding; new findings in molecular visualization with Sriram Subramanium and Donny Bliss; Patrick Lynch’s experienced perspective on user experiences, design, and aesthetics; developments over time in bariatric surgery with Dr. Magnunson; the evolution of interventional neuroangiography with Dr. Gailloud and Lydia Gregg; and the always interesting Futures Forum, moderated by Bang Wong.



The beginning of the Awards Banquet

Aside from the main program sessions, the techniques showcase was brimming with fascinating presentations, and I only wish I’d had more time to attend them. I spent a long time absorbed in watching Perrin Sparks create one of her pastel masterpieces (start of a portrait of Dave Mazierski), but I know from other attendees that the rest of the sessions were just as riveting.

At the Vesalius Trust auction, there was a new activity introduced—creating tablecloths! I know on my team (TEAM Seif), there was a lot of fundraising and planning well before we arrived in Baltimore, and the culmination of every team’s efforts before the meeting really showed in the total amount raised over $27,000 and the beautiful tablecloths that resulted.

On the final night of the meeting, the award ceremony was held announcing the winners of the salon and honoring some of membership with a variety of prestigious awards. Howard Bartner, a former teacher of mine, received the Brödel Award in Education, and it was touching to see him receive it with so many of his former students there to congratulate him.



Music Played by the "Saturday Night Club" performed by Concert Artists of Baltimore, with Artistic director, Edward Polochick.

I’d like to thank this year’s meeting planning committee, led by Meeting Coordinator Joan Tycko and Program Co-chairs Anne Altemus and Cory Sandone for putting together a fabulous program. As Chair of the meeting PR committee, I was able to work first-hand with them for a good portion of the year, and appreciate all the hard work and long hours that go into planning our annual meetings. Thanks also to all the rest of the Baltimore volunteers—I had a great time in my old town and look forward to new memories (and maybe cooler temperatures) next year in Toronto!


Neanderthal reconstruction described by Juan Velasco, Art Director, National Gegographic

by Bill Westwood and Marcia Hartsock

If you are a medical illustrator “of a certain age”, you probably have a flat-file in your studio filled with possibly hundreds of hand crafted “traditional” medical illustrations in a variety of media. Through the 1980s and 90s, as the transition from artwork done completely by hand to artwork created electronically gained momentum, it became obvious to some observers, that traditionally created artwork was going to increase in rarity and possibly in monetary value, making it highly collectible and historically valuable for our profession and the graphic arts industry as well. Not only will the artwork itself become ever more valuable, but so will the artistic techniques used to render it, as they could be lost to future generations.

If action on this issue is delayed, there is a real possibility that a large portion of this wonderful work could be lost, scattered, or worse – simply thrown away, as more of the illustrators who created the images retire or pass away. This has already happened at medical schools, ad agencies, and publishing companies – and in family homes as surviving family members attempted to deal with an illustrator’s work after a death or serious illness.

Approximately five years ago, a small group of AMI members began to have informal discussions about the future of this hidden treasure trove of hand created imagery and how to best preserve it for future generations to study and enjoy. These AMI members, were Marcia Hartsock, Michael Belknap, Zina Deretsky, Gillian Duncan, Mark Lefkowitz, Margot Mackay, Teri McDermott, Gary Schnitz , Mark Schornak, Edith Tagrin, and Bill Westwood. Other illustrators have also expressed their support, and offered their ideas and expertise.

By 2008, this AMI group coalesced into an ad hoc committee, led by Marcia Hartsock, whose goal was to find or start a museum to collect and house this traditionally created artwork and related documents (sketches, work orders, contracts, invoices, etc) in one location, while the work still exists in good condition and its origins can still be identified and accurately catalogued. With a sense of extreme urgency, they moved forward, knowing that today is the time to develop the appropriate vehicle to save and preserve this legacy that may never exist again. These medical illustrators created a mission statement dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of this unique original work:
To acquire, conserve, and exhibit, for purposes of study, education, research and enjoyment, material evidence of scientific and medical illustrations created to illuminate discoveries, knowledge, and principles of the scientific and medical communities.
And a list of goals to guide the project:

• Preservation and digital archiving of traditional medical and science illustrations
• Preservation of a body of knowledge in respect to techniques, materials, and methods
• Provide access for education and research
• Provide vehicle for public display
In 2009 the Vesalius Trust agreed to become the fiscal sponsor and partner for this project. In 2010, after additional discussions and research, and enormous personal effort, Marcia identified the Loyd Library and Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio http://www.lloydlibrary.org/ as an appropriate partner and potential repository for a historic collection of original medical artwork that would fulfill the goals outlined in the mission statement. The Lloyd is a small research library whose Mission aligns very well with the Mission of the Collection. They are committed to preservation of original books, art, and other works in the area of medicine, botany, science, and pharmacy, and have the expertise needed to archive and support the collection. Moreover, the Lloyd is operated with the benefit of an endowment that guarantees it can fulfill its mission well into the future.

The Lloyd Library and Museum grew out of an original research collection of a small 19th century pharmaceutical manufacturing company, Lloyd Pharmacists, Inc. That company changed hands several times, and was eventually bought by Hoescht AG, now a part of Sanofi-Aventis. The research library has been endowed as a separate entity since 1919, and has five floors of archived materials in closed stacks, with one floor open to the public. Most of their clientele are worldwide, from both the scientific and artistic communities. They maintain a small research center, funded by George Rieveschl, the inventor of Benadryl, as well as display space and gallery for changing exhibits of artwork and artifacts. The addition of medical illustration to their collection enhances what they can offer to their international clientele. In short, they are a perfect fit with our goals of creating an accessible collection of original traditionally created medical artwork.



Maggie Heran, Executive Director of the Lloyd, signs the Deed of Gift to accept Marty Finch's artwork.

In October, 2010, the Trust signed a Letter of Understanding with the Lloyd Library and Museum as a partner to archive and house our planned collection of traditionally created medical artwork. This collection will indeed become a historic and artistic legacy for our profession in the future.

The first medical illustrator to donate his life’s work to what will become a historic collection was AMI Emeritus member and Lifetime Achievement recipient, Martin Finch. Last October, Mike Belknap, Gillian Duncan, and Marcia Hartsock visited the Finch’s home in Minneapolis, MN to help Marty and his wife Barbara decide what to donate, to help collect information from Marty about his work, and to pack and transport it to Cincinnati. Lisa Warren, Executive Director of the Vesalius Trust, signed the first Deed of Gift transferring ownership to the Trust, and subsequently to the Lloyd on behalf of the Trust. The weekend spent with the Finch family was very satisfying, and somewhat emotional. As Barbara Finch stated afterwards, “We are all so grateful to see Marty’s work move through time”. Thank you Marty, for the gift of your work to this lasting Collection!

Other illustrators have begun to hear about this effort, and recently, Jody Fulks Sjogren of Columbus , Ohio, donated over 500 pieces of original hand-drawn medical artwork; and Margaret Brudon, Fred Harwin, Marcia Hartsock, David Mascaro, and Bill Westwood have sent Letters of Intent to Donate to the Trust.

And now, WE WANT YOU – and your artwork! We want each of you who has a collection of hand created medical artwork in your files to consider donating it via a Deed of Gift, to the Lloyd Library and Museum and Vesalius Trust. Remember, as hand crafted medical artwork grows more and more rare, and as new digital techniques continue to supplant these unique hand skills, it will become ever more important to save the link between the two for the benefit of future generations.

To participate in this historic effort, send a Letter of Intent to Donate to the Trust to let them and your family or heirs know of your wish to preserve your work in the future. To learn more, go to the Vesalius Trust website http://www.vesaliustrust.org/ to see the Guidelines for Donation and a copy of the Letter of Intent. Remember, we are only asking for illustrators to provide us with an intent to donate. Illustrators can continue to exploit their work until the time in their career when they choose to make the work available for the collection.

We also need the help of all of you. Many of the illustrators whose work we hope to acquire, are sometimes the hardest to reach: those who are Emeritus, who are retired, or who are no longer AMI members.

Here is how you can help - First: to connect with illustrators you know who may have a collection of their life’s work that could be preserved for the future
Second: to ask your institution or company if they have original artwork they may not have the resources to continue to store.
The time is now – so spread the word! Questions? Contact Marcia Hartsock: (513)221-3868 or marcia@ hartsockillustration.com



Martin Finch

The Vesalius Trust would like to thank the members of the Association of Medical Illustrators for their generous support at the 2011 meeting in Baltimore. Through the efforts of the "tablecloth" teams, active bidding at the live auction, and generous contributions to the silent auction, the Trust raised over $27,000.00 for student scholarships and support of visual communication in the medical and life sciences.

We would especially like to recognize the team captains - Bill Westwood, Sue Seif, Dave Cheney, Dave Mazierski, Bill Andrews, and Jill Rhead - for embracing the tablecloth drawing event and inspiring a competitive, fun atmosphere! Team Westwood raised over $2,700.00 prior to the event to take home the first of two "Golden Crab" awards and secured the second "Golden Crab" with an overall total of $3,745.00. For the first time ever, the teams raised money (over $11,000.00) through "Crowdrise" prior to the meeting.

Photos from this year’s tablecloth competition courtesy of Jim Perkins.

Our Student Presenters:
Alan Cole
Jodi Chapman, JHU

Vesalian Scholars
Enid Hajderi, U of Toronto
Joyce Hui, U of Toronto
Sayaka Isowa, IUC
Adam Pellerite, JHU

Research Grant Recipients
Joshua Bird, GHSU
Bona Kim, JHU
Beatrice Lau, U of Toronto
Tara Rose, JHU
Bricelyn Strauch, JHU





Poster Session Honorable Mentions
Enid Hajderi, U of Toronto
Beatrice Lau, U of Toronto
See Vol. 52, Issue 2, Spring 2011 of the AMI Newsletter for a full list of scholarship winners.