Frank H. Netter
Encyclopedia
Frank H. Netter was an artist
, physician
, and most notably, a leading medical illustrator
. He was also a Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine
.
at 53rd Street
and Seventh Avenue
, and grew up wanting to be an artist. In high school, he obtained a scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design
, doing so at night while continuing high school. After further studying at the Art Students League of New York
and with private teachers, he began a commercial art career, quickly achieving success and doing work for the Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times
. However, his family disapproved of a career as an artist and he agreed to study medicine. After getting a degree at the City College of New York
, he completed medical school at New York University
and a surgical internship at Bellevue Hospital and attempted to begin practicing medicine. However, as Netter put it: "This was in 1933—the depths of the Depression—and there was no such thing as medical practice. If a patient ever wandered into your office by mistake, he didn't pay."
. This proved hugely popular with physicians and a reprint without the advertising copy was even more popular.
. In June 2000, Novartis sold its interest in Netter's works to MediMedia USA's subsidiary Icon Learning Systems, which in turn has sold the portfolio to Elsevier
, which continues to make his work available in various formats. His Atlas of Human Anatomy http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/Netter and other atlases have become a staple of medical education.
Netter's work has received numerous accolades:
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, and most notably, a leading medical illustrator
Medical illustrator
A medical illustrator is a professional artist who interprets and creates visual material to help record and disseminate medical, biological and related knowledge. Medical illustrators not only produce such material but can also function as consultants and administrators within the field of...
. He was also a Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine
New York Academy of Medicine
The New York Academy of Medicine was founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York City metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health reform...
.
Early life, training, and medical career
Frank Henry Netter was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at 53rd Street
53rd Street (Manhattan)
53rd Street is a midtown cross street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, that contains buildings such as the Citicorp Building. It is 1.83 miles long. The street runs westbound from Sutton Place across most of the island's width, ending at DeWitt Clinton Park at Eleventh Avenue...
and Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
, and grew up wanting to be an artist. In high school, he obtained a scholarship to study at the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, doing so at night while continuing high school. After further studying at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
and with private teachers, he began a commercial art career, quickly achieving success and doing work for the Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. However, his family disapproved of a career as an artist and he agreed to study medicine. After getting a degree at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, he completed medical school at New York University
New York University School of Medicine
The New York University School of Medicine is one of the graduate schools of New York University. Founded in 1841 as the University Medical College, the NYU School of Medicine is one of the foremost medical schools in the United States....
and a surgical internship at Bellevue Hospital and attempted to begin practicing medicine. However, as Netter put it: "This was in 1933—the depths of the Depression—and there was no such thing as medical practice. If a patient ever wandered into your office by mistake, he didn't pay."
Early medical art career
Having continued doing freelance art during his medical training, including some work for his professors, he fell back on medical art to supplement his income. In particular, pharmaceutical companies began seeking Netter for illustrations to help sell new products, such as Novocain. Soon after a misunderstanding wherein Netter asked for $1,500 for a series of 5 pictures and an advertising manager agreed to and paid $1,500 each - $7,500 for the series - Netter gave up the practice of medicine. In 1936, the CIBA Pharmaceutical Company commissioned a small work from him, a fold-up illustration of a heart to promote the sale of digitalisDigitalis
Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials that are commonly called foxgloves. This genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but recent reviews of phylogenetic research have placed it in the much enlarged family...
. This proved hugely popular with physicians and a reprint without the advertising copy was even more popular.
Career with Ciba
Quickly following on the success of the fold-up heart, fold-up versions of other organs were soon produced. Netter then proposed that a series of pathology illustrations be produced. These illustrations were distributed to physicians as cards in a folder, with advertising for CIBA products on the inside of the folder, and were also popular with physicians. CIBA then collected these illustrations in book form, producing the CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations, which ultimately comprised 8 volumes (13 books). Beginning in 1948, CIBA also reused illustrations by Netter in another series of materials to be given to physicians, the Clinical Symposia series. These were small magazine-like brochures that typically featured an extensive article on a medical condition, commonly with about a dozen of Netter's illustrations. This series was produced until at least the early 90s. In 1989, Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy was published. In all, Netter produced nearly 4,000 illustrations, which have been included in countless publications.Netter's legacy
The vast bulk of Netter's illustrations were produced for and owned by CIBA Pharmaceutical Company and its successor, CIBA-Geigy, which has since merged with Sandoz Laboratories to become NovartisNovartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
. In June 2000, Novartis sold its interest in Netter's works to MediMedia USA's subsidiary Icon Learning Systems, which in turn has sold the portfolio to Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
, which continues to make his work available in various formats. His Atlas of Human Anatomy http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/Netter and other atlases have become a staple of medical education.
Netter's work has received numerous accolades:
- "Dr. Netter's contribution to the study of human anatomy is epochal. He has advanced our understanding of anatomy more than any other medical illustrator since the 16th century, when VesaliusVesaliusAndreas Vesalius was a Flemish anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica . Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy. Vesalius is the Latinized form of Andries van Wesel...
introduced drawings based on cadaveric dissections." - Dr. Michael DeBakey
Awards and honors
- 1966, Townsend Harris Medal, City College of New YorkCity College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
- 1969, The Harold Swanberg Distinguished Service Award, American Medical Writers AssociationAmerican Medical Writers AssociationThe American Medical Writers Association is the world's leading professional association for medical communicators. AMWA has more than 5,600 members in the United States, Canada, and 26 other countries. AMWA is governed by a board of directors composed of a 14-member executive committee and...
- 1973, Distinguished Service Award, National Kidney FoundationNational Kidney FoundationThe National Kidney Foundation, Inc. is a major voluntary health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City...
- 1979, Resolution of Commendation, Florida State Legislature
- 1981, Distinguished Service Award, American College of CardiologyAmerican College of CardiologyThe American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines, and to influence health care policy...
- 1981, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, New Jersey College of Medicine and DentistryUniversity of Medicine and Dentistry of New JerseyThe University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is the state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It has eight distinct academic units...
- 1985, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
- 1986, Life Achievement Award, Society of IllustratorsSociety of IllustratorsThe Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
- 1986, The Solomon A. Berson Medical Alumni Achievement Award, New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
School of Medicine - 1986, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
- 1986, Lifetime Achievement Award, Association of Medical IllustratorsAssociation of Medical IllustratorsThe Association of Medical Illustrators is an international organization founded in 1945, and incorporated in Illinois. Its members are primarily artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication...
- 1986, Dedication of the Netter Library, CIBA-Geigy Corporation
- 1987, Honorary Member, Radiologic Society of North America
- 1988, Honorary Award for Contribution to Knowledge of Musculoskeletal System, American Academy of Orthopedic SurgeonsAmerican Academy of Orthopedic SurgeonsThe American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is an orthopaedic organization.-Characteristics:Founded at Northwestern University in 1933, the AAOS has grown to include over 36,000 members. The group provides education and practice management services for orthopaedic surgeons and allied health...
- 1988, Honorary Fellowship, Medical Artists Association of Great Britain
- 1990, Award of Special Recognition, Association of Medical Illustrators
- 1990, Honorary Member Award, American Association of Clinical AnatomistsAmerican Association of Clinical AnatomistsThe American Association of Clinical Anatomists aims to advance the science and art of clinical anatomy. It encourages research and publication in the field and maintains high standards in the teaching of anatomy...
External links
- netterimages.com biography article
- Netter publications currently in print, from elsevierhealth.com
- University of the Sciences in Philadelphia The BioArt of Frank H. Netter, MD
- A brief account of medical illustrator Craig Luce working with Dr. Netter on Vol8, Part III of the Ciba Collection http://Medical-illustration.com/WorkingWithNetter.htm
- The official Facebook page of Netterimages.com and the Netter Team at Reed Elsevier
- a video that contains interviews with Frank Netter, and is the ONLY video online of Netter working on a painting. He even takes you through his process of making a painting!