Quick Pic: Frightful

Hand-colored plaster relief sculpture that demonstrates fetal fractures of skull and clavicle. Created by Charlotte Holt.
Sculpture of infant (1961)

Today We Learned: Always read the label before opening a box from the History of Medicine collection. Moving aside the tissue paper packing, we were greeted by this sculpture a little too early this morning. We were not prepared for such a creepy surprise! Made by medical illustrator and sculptor Charlotte Holt in 1961, this hand-painted plaster relief sculpture depicts treatment of fetal skull and clavicle fractures. Holt’s attention to detail is excellent… which makes it all the more disturbing.