The Medical Illustrations of Dr. Frank Netter

Dr. Frank Netter was a surgeon who was also a talented artist. He sold his artwork to his professors to help pay his way through medical school. When he started his medical practice during the Great Depression Netter realized that many of his patients could not afford to pay for his services. Netter continued to sell his illustrations and discovered that painting could be more lucrative than medicine.  Netter quit the medical game in 1934 and became a full-time artist specializing in medical illustrations at the age of 28. Netter’s best clients were pharmaceutical companies which used his work during the 1930s.

His Atlas of Human Anatomy and other atlases became a staple of medical education.

Read more: Dangerous Minds