Inez Michon Demonet O'Brien
Personal Information
Born: 1897
Died: 1980
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Corcoran School of Art; National School of fine & Applied Arts; School of Industrial Art & Technical Design for Women
"“I guess I was pretty much of a nuisance at first. The doctors had to spend almost as much time with me as with the patient. But, after I’d been carried out of the room a few times, I made up my mind I’d have to get over my squeamishness. I did it by learning to anticipate the next move of the surgeon. This kept me so entertained I forgot to become woozy.” (blogs.weta.org); “I’ll admit it’s not easy to put in a full day here making scientific drawings and then go home and work some more. . .Yet I’m convinced you can generally find time to do anything if you really want to. The trick lies in making yourself start.” (blogs.weta.org);"
— Inez Michon Demonet O'Brien
Professional Life
Field of Study: Medical Illustration
Institution/Corporation: NIH
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2 Gold Medals for her work on the diseases tularemia & Rocky Mountain spotted fever;
Achievements: known for establishing modern Medical Arts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH); specialty was maxillofacial and plastic surgery illustration; during World War I, created watercolors of facial injuries and surgeries for the U.S. War Department; purpose of her drawings was to capture the realities of physical reconstruction and rehabilitation during World War I and provided road maps for others to follow, improving surgical practices and patient recovery;
only artist in residence at the Hygienic Laboratory (now the NIH) in 1926, working her way up to chief of the Medical Arts department in 1938, the first person to hold that position
did illustrations for journals like the Journal of the National Malaria Society & the book, Manual of Microscopical diagnosis
occasionally did non-medical illustrations like The Anatomy & Physiology of the Light Organ in Fireflies which was published in the journal Bioluminescence in 1948
1960-65 worked as a Fine & Applied Arts consultant for Medical Arts working on interiors of buildings in the Washington DC area
the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) awards a yearly scholarship in her name endowed by money she left them in her will
worked at NIH 1926-1965
moved to Green Valley Arizona in 1971
her hand-colored etching, Rickshaw Coolie-Shanghai, is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum
2 of her etchings are held by The Bloom Family Center for Special Collections at Georgetown University
some of her etchings were purchased by Eleanor & Franklin D. Roosevelt
began experimenting with etchings in the 1930s
did watercolor landscapes before switching to etching