Unknown (English)

oil on canvas

38.4 x 31.8 cm

Oct 22, 2021 • Sotheby's

alexis carrel received his medical degree from the university of lyons in 1900. in france he began a series of experiments on blood vessel surgery and transplantation. "his growing reputation for surgical skill, bold experimentation, and technical originality won him in 1906 appointment as member of the rockefeller institute for medical research. there he resumed his surgical experimentation. subsequent progress in surgery of the heart and blood vessels and in transplantation of organs has rested upon the foundation he laid down between 1904 and 1908.... in 1912 he received the nobel prize for his surgical and cell-culture experiments.... carrel's naturally religious, even mystical temperament led him to speculate on the great problems of human destiny. in a widely read book, man the unknown (1935), he expressed the hope that scientific enlightenment might confer upon mankind the boons of freedom from disease, long life, and spiritual advancement, under the leadership of an intellectual elite." george corner. dsb 3:90-92. jean leclerc de pulligny (1859-1939) was a french engineer who published a book on industrial hygiene in 1908. he served as director of the french mission of engineers in the united states (1911-1914) and had been elected a member of the american society of civil engineers in 1912. the date of carrel's letter to de pulligny is significant because he wrote it one month before he received the nobel prize. james waldo fawcett (1893-1968) was a journalist and historian who was interested in the subject of heredity when he wrote to carrel.

22.9 x 30.5 cm

Mar 11, 2020 • Bonhams