Obituaries and portraits:
how realistic?
Claire Hilton
March 2015
Obituaries
• De mortuis nihil nisi bonum -“Of the dead,
nothing unless good.”
• What can we learn from obituaries,
tributes, ODNB?
• Who are they written for?
• What makes a boring obituary and an
interesting one?
• Anecdotes: benefits and pitfalls?
• Are they primary or secondary sources?
Obituaries
• Pros and cons of using obituaries in historical research:
objective v subjective?
• Reflect writer as much as subject. Does content reflect
what psychiatrist writers would like someone to say
about them one day?
• Or the writer taking the credit?
• Martin Roth on Kenneth Rawnsley:
There was more turbulence and conflict during the first few years
in his life with the Royal College than might have appeared on
the surface. …. Ken and I met often. We understood each other
and agreed on the major policy issues. I gave unqualified
support to all his proposals and he proved a staunch ally.
BMJ
• BMJ – one page obituaries – commissioned –
professional journalist: risk of errors, especially if the
journalist does not understand the specialty
• E-mail received from a journalist about a BMJ obituary:
I'm sorry about the errors in the obituary.
I think when I was editing things down I mixed up some facts. I
normally try very hard to get things right and I apologise in this
instance.
I don't usually send things out for checking in advance … but
maybe I need to rethink that.
Thomas Bewley: ‘Obituaries
(with advice on how to read them)’
With the passage of 150 years changes can be seen in the
style in which obituaries are written.
There is the same desire to write kindly lies about the
deceased but this may be expressed in different ways. I
have noted some phrases which draw attention to those
redeeming vices, which make us more human, and have
listed some of these examples of tactful euphemisms.
e.g. ‘Fond of the fair sex’ = he was a libertine (serial
fornicator)
‘He was much loved by the nurses’ = probably another
serial fornicator
Thomas Bewley, Madness to Mental Illness. A History of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Online archive 32:
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Online%20archive%2032%20Obituaries%20(with%20advice%20on%20
how%20to%20read%20them).pdf
Portraits
• What do portraits show? They are
interpretations rather than reflections and are
active commentaries by their makers.
• Why were they painted – to decorate or
illustrate?
• How should we read them?
• Political, cultural, social and economic
messages?
• We need to view portrait as a whole.
• Beware - copyright if reproducing
Dr Henry Rollin (1914-2014 )
• Artist, Jacob Kramer
(1892-1962)
• Jewish
• Lived in Leeds
• Painted 1952
Dr Jim Birley (1928-2013)
Artist: David Poole
1982, approached the Norfolk and
Norwich Hospital with a scheme to
donate artworks to brighten long
and unfriendly corridors.
Hospital's first official artist. His
work formed the basis of the
Hospital Arts Project.
He was interested in people and
enjoyed interacting with them.
Painted 1991
Dr Robert Kendell (1935-2002)
• Artist: Christian Furr,
b 1966
• Portraits of many
people including the
Queen
• (Belgrave Square?)
• (He looks as if he is looking at
the viewer and listening to
them)
Professor Kenneth Rawnsley
(1926-1992)
• Artist: Michael
Noakes
• (same chair and artist as MR)
Professor Sir Desmond Pond
(1919-86)
(Attributed to)
Peter Greenham,
1909-1992
Professor Linford Rees
(1914-2004)
• Artist: Alfred Janes,
1911-99 (Welsh)
Professor Sir Martin Roth
(1917-2006)
• Artist: Michael
Noakes
• Portrait painter,
including the Queen
and Mrs Thatcher.
• (Same chair and artist as KR)
• (Blue tie makes me think
politics – might be wrong)