The surgeon

Copley, John, 1875-1950 · 1911

The print of The Surgeon, in which we see the interior of an operating theater at the Military Hospital, Millbank, with an operation in progress, was made possible by the kindness of Colonel Pilcher, who gave the artist permission to watch the operation. In the room flooded with light the only note of colour, contrasting vividly with the whiteness of the furniture and linen and the surgeon's and nurses' clothing, was that provided by the jars containing a mauve-coloured sterilising fluid, and this note was thrillingly rendered in the first state of the print.