Chesney Archives
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Explore the Chesney Archives’ fine and decorative art collections below. Visit the Search Our Collections page to conduct keyword and advanced searches of fine art in our collections.

The Chesney Archives maintains records about art and artifact collections and regularly revises these records and makes a portion of them available to the public through the Search Our Collections tool. Not all of our considerable amount of documentation related to these collections is available online; we encourage you to contact us with questions about specific artworks or artifacts.

There is also a digital guide to a selection of artworks curated by Bloomberg Connects that you can find here.

 

Paintings

A wide range of nineteenth and twentieth century artists are represented in the collection. Thousands of works of fine arts adorn the public spaces of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health, including works by major figures such as John Singer Sargent, Cecilia Beaux, William Merrit Chase, Joyce Scott, Grace Hartigan, Wolf Khan, Dahlov Ipcar, and Kenneth Noland.

From left to right:
Celtic Painting by Grace Hartigan, 1978, oil on canvas
Sounds of the Garden by Susan Fine, 2017, oil on canvas

Portrait Collection

The collection includes over 300 commemorative portraits of individuals associated with the major health entities of Johns Hopkins – The Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Johns Hopkins Health System, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the Johns Hopkins University schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. The date range of the collection extends from the nineteenth century to the present. It is a growing collection with new portraits added each year. The portraits are widely distributed across the buildings of the Johns Hopkins health divisions, including installations in boardrooms, conference rooms, auditoriums, classrooms, libraries, and some public corridors.

View the Portrait Collection

From left to right:
Mary Adelaide Nutting by Cecilia Beaux, 1906, oil on canvas
Max Brödel by Thomas C. Corner, 1938, oil on canvas
Harriet Griggs Guild by Cedric Egeli, 1979, oil on canvas
Vivien Theodore Thomas by Bob Gee, 1969, oil on canvas

Prints and Drawings

The prints and drawings collection consists mainly of portraiture, scenes of the campus, still lifes, and abstract art. Artists represented include Giovanni Batista Piranesi, Gabrielle Clements, Richard Yardley, Aaron Sopher, and prominent contemporary and local artists. In addition, there are series of public health posters collected by Johns Hopkins faculty in the course of their careers that document various countries’ public health campaigns, such as Russia and China.

From left to right:
Before the Order is Given by Juan Logan, 1995, woodblock print on paper
Veduta dell’Antiteatro Flavio, detto il Colosseo by Giovanni Batista Piranesi, 18th century, etching

Sculptures, Plaques, and Relief Works

Sculpture in the collection ranges from the marble copy of Christus Consolator by Bertel Thorvaldsen to portrait busts of Johns Hopkins, William Halsted, William Osler, Adolf Meyer and other figures associated with the history of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health.

From left to right:
Bronze sculpture on marble base of Edward Jenner vaccinating his infant by Ferdinando de Luca, late 19th century
Great Ascension by Beverly Pepper
Metal, 1984

Antique Furnishings

Fine furnishings from the estates of individuals affiliated with Johns Hopkins include furniture, textiles, silver, and decorative pieces. There are items from the homes of Johns Hopkins, William Halsted, William Osler, M. Carey Thomas, William Welch, Harriet Lane, and others. The furnishings are mainly on display in special areas or in use in board and reception rooms.

From left to right:
Detail of brass fittings on the original front doors of The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Leather upholstered armchair that belonged to Mr. Johns Hopkins, 19th century
American Silver Three-Handled Trophy Cup, presented to William Osler by students of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 1905; manufactured by Reed and Barton