DORIS APPEL,SCULPTOR . 1904 -1995

Doris Leavitt Appel, the sculptor and medical historian, was born on June 4, 1904 in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from State College, she studied art at Boston University and at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her husband, Bernard Appel,M.D. inspired his wife, encouraged her, supported her, assisted in the casting of his wife's works, photographed portraits of her work and filmed the making of her statues. Their partnership focused on History, Art, and Medicine and inspired Appel’s creation in sculpture of the figures whose major discoveries and insights changed the course of Western medicine. This series of 12 figures emerging from low to high relief, as if from the past, was originally commissioned for the entrance to a Library for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington,D.C. The Second World War and its aftermath cancelled plans for the Pathology Library and museum. Below is the "Hall of Medicine" in its original form in Lynn, Massachusetts.
That the original portrayals found a new home in the Galveston Medical School Branch of the University of Texas was the vision of Dr John Mcgovern. He donated the work to inspire medical students who pass through the entrance of the McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine located in the Hall of Medical History in the 1891 landmark Ashbel Smith Building in Galveston, Texas. PICTURED ABOVE IS THE BEAUTIFUL AND INSPIRING HALL. John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine | UTMB Homehttps://www.utmb.edu › osler › hall-of-history-overview (copy and paste)

  • CASTING THE STATUES

    After finishing a figure in clay, in her studio, the Caproni Gallery master caster Tosci came to the studio to cast each statue. ( https://www.capronicollection.com/pages/history ) (copy and paste) After the molds were made, cleaned of clay, and refilled witht final extra fine plaster product, the exterior mold had to be removed by careful chipping . Appel did this very strenuous work herself with minimal assistance.
  • The 10 pots of clay from Italy were cleaned and re-used for each ststue. The clay had to be kept moist at just the correct texture to use. During the 3-4 days of sculpting the figures were covered with damp clothes to prevent drying out.

  • Her method

    Each of the prominent figures from Medical history were chosen after intensive research and consultation with her many colleagues in the American Association for the History of Medicine. She created each figure from clay on a metal armature working almost non-stop for 3-4 days from her mental image and notes. She never made a preliminary maquette. The image was entirely present in her mind.
In 1976 with George Gifford ,Medical Historian at Boston University School of Medicine, where a second casting of the Hall of Medical History was displayed for many years. These castings are now in storage along with the panels of the History of American Medicine(seen on right).
APPEL WAS A SOUGHT- AFTER SPEAKER AT WOMEN'S EVENTS IN NEW ENGLAND and showed a silent film taken by her husband to illustrate her talks on sculpture and on the history of Western medicine. "Helping Mother Make a Statue" included her three daughters and subtly introduced herself as a professional working artist, but also a loving mother. At the time, this was an inspiring example for her audiences. " HELPING MOTHER MAKE A STATUE" >>>> YouTube https://youtu.be/paoxO9n3gnU
For more details about her professional collaboration and life go to: https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/DORIS/ (copy and paste)
With portrait of Marie Curie
Doris Appel herself remembered James Ballard, Director of the Boston Medical Library, with great esteem, which she translated into her sculpture of him. "James Ballard was a special friend to me,always willing to help in my research of historical material for the biographical portraits in the Hall of Medicine.."..
Letter from Albert Einstein who admired the portrayal of Marie Curie,whom he knew.
Working on First panel of the history of American Medicine
BELOW ARE THE TWELVE FIGURES FROM THE MCGOVERN HALL OF MEDICAL HISTORY at UTMB, Galveston,Texas.
BELOW: Some smaller wall pieces for libraries and offices.
GALEN 129-199 A.D.
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Page updated 1-01- 2022
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