Treasures

58	James Sharples 1751-1811
Portrait of John Bard
Pastel, 9.25 x 6.75 inches, between 1793 and 1799
John Bard (1716-1799) studied medicine in Philadelphia and, on the advice of his friend Benjamin Franklin, came to New York in 1746 where he soon developed a large practice among the upper classes. He performed, for the first time in America, a dissection of an executed criminal for the purposes of instruction, and the first successful laparotomy for an extra-uterine pregnancy; he was named New York's first public health officer; and he was a leading figure, with his son Samuel, in the establishment of a medical school at King's College in 1767. This pastel was drawn by the English portrait painter James Sharples, Sr., after his arrival in America in 1793 or 1796. At least four other versions of this portrait exist, some of which may have been done by Sharples's wife or two sons, all of whom were artists; this one is considered to be the original.
Gift of Mrs. J. G. Phelps Stokes