Worlds unseen: Exploring retinal drawings from the Alice McPherson Archive

Inside Out — Art of Medical Illustration, a new exhibit curated by the McPherson Eye Research Institute, explores the meticulous craftsmanship of medical illustrations, including retinal drawings sourced from the Alice McPherson Archive held by UW Archives.

Created under the care of trailblazing retinal specialist Dr. Alice Ruth McPherson, the historical drawings provide magnified views of retinal conditions or abnormalities ranging from retinal detachment to blood vessel tumors. Each drawing is remarkably precise, depicting ocular landscapes mapped out in whisper-thin vessels and gauzy tissues. 

The process to capture the details was painstaking, requiring care and composure: Patients were made to lie face up for one to three hours, while ophthalmologists or ophthalmic illustrators — wielding an ophthalmoscope and colored pencils — captured the conditions on paper. 

These meticulous representations were essential examination and teaching tools for Dr. McPherson, who used the drawings to educate medical students and patients alike. Today, their application isn’t just practical; each illustration is an emblem of the ways that art and science have come together to tell stories and capture histories. 

The retinal illustrations are on view alongside works by contemporary artists Katie Stanley, H. Adam Steinberg, and Kaitlin Walsh. Exhibit visitors can also find historical texts and images from Ebling Library’s collection, including illustrations of eye diseases from the early 1800s.

Inside Out — Art of Medical Illustration is on display through September 30, 2026, at the Mandelbaum & Albert Family Vision Gallery on the ninth floor of the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research building.