Frank H. Netter Papers, 1945-1991

Summary

Creator:

Netter, Frank H. (Frank Henry), 1906-1991.

Abstract:

Frank H. Netter (1906-1991) was a white artist and physician whose illustrations depicted many medical conditions, treatments and anatomy of the human body. Before Netter studied medicine and became a physician he studied art and had established himself as a commercial artist early in his career. After completing medical school he set up his medical practice but was unable to make a living as a physician because of the Great Depression. It was at this time that he began making medical illustrations for various pharmaceutical companies. His pictures appeared in medical advertisements, pamphlets and books. His relationship with Ciba Pharmaceutical Company (later called CIBA-GEIGY Corporation and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation) encompassed most of his career and resulted in the publication of many anatomy books. The best known of these is the eight volume set titled the Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations or the "green books." The first volume of this collection was published in 1953 and the last volume was published posthumously in 1993. This collection is now known as the Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations. Frank H. Netter completed the 'Atlas of Human Anatomy' in 1989 and a large number of his illustrations were used in Clinical Symposia which was a publication of Ciba.

This collection contains correspondence, research materials, slides, sketches and prints. The correspondence consists of letters between Netter and his editor regarding the work he did for Ciba Pharmaceutical Company and the CIBA-GEIGY Corporation and between Netter and the doctors he consulted while researching the different medical conditions or procedures he was working on at the time. The research materials consist of photographs, journal articles, manuscripts and x-rays. The slides are of the pictures that were included in the Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations, Atlas of Human Anatomy and Clinical Symposia. This collection also contains more than 700 of his original sketches that cover all aspects of human anatomy, medical conditions and procedures. There is also a series of 12 matted prints entitled "Life of a Doctor."

Extent:

4400 items (24 linear feet)

Language:

Materials in English

Library Catalog Link:

View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Frank Henry Netter (1906-1991), a white artist, physician and medical illustrator was born in New York City on 25 April 1906. He studied art at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. Early in his career he established himself as a commercial artist and his artwork appeared in the New York Times, Collier's and the Saturday Evening Post. Netter entered the College of the City of New York in 1924 and graduated in 1927. At the urging of his mother he began medical school at New York University, graduating in 1931. He completed his surgical residency at Bellevue Hospital in 1933.

Netter's career as a medical illustrator began soon after entering private practice. Unable to make a living as a surgeon during the Great Depression, Netter began making pictures for pharmaceutical companies to supplement his income as a physician. In 1934, he resigned from Mt Sinai Hospital and began making pictures full time. He did most of his work for Ciba Pharmaceutical Company (later called CIBA-GEIGY Corporation and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation), Armour Labs and Pfizer. During World War II, he made illustrations for several Army first aid manuals.

The majority of Netter's work centered around Ciba Pharmaceutical Company and CIBA-GEIGY Corporation, a relationship that began in 1937 and lasted until his death in 1991. Netter created over 4000 medical illustrations for CIBA-GEIGY alone. The primary result of this partnership was the Atlas of Human Anatomy (1989), illustrations for Clinical Symposia, and the 8 volume set Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations. The last volume was completed posthumously in 1993. This collection is now known as the Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations.

Netter married twice. He met his first wife, Mary MacFadyen (1905-1977), while in medical school. Mary grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, and attended the North Carolina College for Women from 1921 to 1923. She moved to Washington, D.C. to attend George Washington University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1927. MacFadyen then entered the two-year medical program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed that program in 1929 and transferred to New York University to finish her training as a physician. Netter and MacFadyen were married on 17 June 1931 in New York. They had five children: Cornelia, Frank, James, Francine, and Jonathan, before divorcing in 1956. On 30 December 1956, Netter married Mary Vera Burrows (1901-1992), who had one son from a previous marriage, John Pate Stetson.

Scope and content:

Frank H. Netter was a physician and illustrator whose anatomy pictures appeared in numerous publications. This collection contains correspondence, research materials, slides, sketches and prints. The correspondence consists of letters between Netter and his editor regarding the work he did for Ciba Pharmaceutical Company (later called CIBA-GEIGY Corporation and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation) and between Netter and the doctors he consulted while researching the different medical conditions or procedures he was working on at the time. The research materials consist of photographs, journal articles, manuscripts and x-rays. The slides are of the pictures that were included in the Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations, Atlas of Human Anatomy, and Clinical Symposia. This collection also contains more than 700 of his original sketches that cover all aspects of human anatomy, medical conditions and procedures. There is also a series of 12 matted prints entitled "Life of a Doctor."

Acquisition information:

Gift of Francine Netter Roberson.

Processing information:

Processed by: Sue Jones, February 2015

Encoded by: Sue Jones, January 2016;

Updated by: Dawne Lucas, May 2017, June 2017, October 2017, February 2018, July 2019, January 2020; July 2020; February 2025

In 2017, we began using "white" as an ethnic and racial identity for individual and families, in addition to "Black," "African American," "Jewish," and other familiar identity terms that we have used for decades in collection descriptions. We use this identity term so that whiteness is no longer the presumed default of the people represented in our collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Anatomy.
Anatomy, Artistic.
Anatomy, Pathological.
Medical Illustration.
Medical illustrators -- United States -- 20th century.

Names:

Ciba Pharmaceutical Company.
CIBA-GEIGY Corporation.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
Netter, Frank H. (Frank Henry), 1906-1991.

Restrictions to access:

Digitized materials are not available for download.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Frank H. Netter Papers #HC0010, Rare Book Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:

Rare Book Collection

Louis Round Wilson Library

200 South Road

Chapel Hill, NC 27515

Contact:

(919) 962-3765

wilsonlibrary@unc.edu