The RowanSOM Health Sciences Library on the Stratford campus is the beneficiary of an anonymous gift of artwork by the late Dr. Richard Joseph (Joe) Wilder. Dr. Wilder was the Director of Surgery at the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York as well as a professor of surgery at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. He created paintings on a variety of subjects and is particularly well known for his paintings of athletes, physicians and surgeons. His work is owned and exhibited by many museums and has received positive reviews in Art News, the New York Times, New York magazine, Time magazine and other publications. Some of his work has appeared as the cover art on the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Dr. Wilder also published three books, two of which are, “Athletes: The Paintings of Joe Wilder” and “Surgical Reflections: Images in Print and Prose”. This second book was awarded the first prize by the American Medical Writers’ Association in 1993 for being the most beautiful medical book published that year.
The topics expressed in the paintings on display in the Library are: “Contemplation Before Surgery”; “Reassuring a Worried Mother”; “The Healer”; “The Recovery Room”, and a semi-portrait of Dr. Virginia Apgar.
The paintings will be on permanent display at the RowanSOM Library’s entrance. We invite you to come in to view this wonderful addition to the Library’s space.