This year the 250th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Colles (1773 – 1843) has been uppermost in our minds in RCSI Heritage Collections. In 2021, Sir Charles Cameron (1830 – 1921) was our focus, as we marked the centenary of his death. Both figures were, of course, Presidents of RCSI. But they were also, it turns out, neighbours. Well, neighbours in space, if not exactly in time. At different points in their lives, they were both residents of that leafy section of the city later known as Dublin 4. Colles lived for a time in Donnybrook Cottage on the Stillorgan Road, while Cameron set up home at 27 Raglan Road in Ballsbridge. This connection was brought to our attention by a recent book, From the Grand Canal to the Dodder: Illustrious Lives (The History Press, 2020). The RCSI connections continue, however: the author of this fascinating volume is Dr Beatrice M. Doran, who was RCSI’s Chief Librarian from 1986 to 2007. From the Grand Canal to the Dodder is Dr Doran’s third book on th
We love disovering new things about the heritage and art collections in RCSI. Just a few months ago, we learned that the bust of Dr John Denham (PRCSI 1873) in our portrait sculpture collection was created by Anglo-Irish sculptor Kathleen Trousdell Shaw (1865-1958). Shaw's bust of Denham is remarkable not just for its exquisite detail but for the fact that it is the only bust in the historical art collections known to have been created by a woman. But why didn't we know this beforehand? When we talk about our painted and sculptural portrait collections, our focus has tended to be on the sitter. Who was this person? What was their contribution to RCSI or to surgery and medicine more generally? What does their portrait say about them? As we continue to interrogate our collections, however, this focus is shifting to include the story of the artists that created these pieces. Kathleen Trousdell Shaw's artist inscription on the Denham bust is simply 'K.T. Shaw, 1889'. T