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"Profile of Henry Donaldson, " Sculptural Portrait of Pioneering Neuroscientist

About the Item

Sculpted just a year before both sculptor and subject died in 1938, this important and unique sculptural rondel was made by Robert Tait McKenzie, the famed sculptor of young athletes, and features a profile portrait of Henry H. Donaldson, the pioneering neuroscientist who helmed the Wistar Institute at the University of Pennsylvania for 32 years. McKenzie was a remarkable polymath, acting as physician, physical therapist, physical educator, and sculptor over his lifetime, and serving as the J. William White Research Professor of Physical Education in the 1930s. His subject was a world renowned researcher into the function of the human brain, standardizing the use of albino rats to learn about how the human brain worked. Donaldson was widely published, producing a number of books including "The Growth of the Brain." This rondel was sculpted for, and installed at, the Lenape Club, established in 1911 to provide a venue for social interaction among male members of the University's faculty; it disbanded in 1960. The bronze has a gorgeous, ruddy-brown patina and a glowing surface.
  • Creator:
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)Diameter: 10 in (25.4 cm)
  • Style:
    Art Deco (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Bronze,Cast
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1937
  • Condition:
    Overall excellent; minor scratches to the patina.
  • Seller Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU865127332852

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