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October 25, 2000
HHMI Purchases Geis Archives
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has purchased the Geis Archives,
a collection of work by Irving Geis, a scientific artist whose
paintings, sketches and drawings enabled generations of scientists to
visualize many of biology's most important macromolecules. Also
included in the purchase are related scientific correspondence, a
science library of Geis's published work, and his private journals.
Geis (1908-1997) was one of the greatest scientific artists of the
20th century. His innovations, particularly in depicting the
structures of biological macromolecules such as DNA, earned him an
international reputation. Many of his illustrations appeared in
Scientific American, including a painting of the first protein
crystal structure, of myoglobin, published in 1961.
"We are honored to take responsibility for this archive," said
Thomas R. Cech, the Institute's president. "Irving Geis was a pioneer
in molecular art who worked closely with scientists to reveal the
beauty of nature. He took great care to ensure accuracy and had a gift
for depicting the three-dimensionality and movement of molecules. Even
today, many of his images compare favorably with those produced by
high-tech computer graphics."
Geis illustrated numerous scientific textbooks, was a guest lecturer
at universities and medical schools and exhibited his work at
scientific institutions throughout the United States.
The Institute, the nation's largest medical research philanthropy,
will display many of the works at its headquarters and conference
center in Chevy Chase, Md. It also plans to create an online exhibit
and to make the images and collection available to other
institutions.
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Cytochrome (1988)
The hydrophobic side chains are shown in red.
Downlad hi-res image
0570.jpg
357K,
867x1091 pixels.
Credit line must
accompany image:
©2000 Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
Image may not be distributed or further reproduced
without permission.
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Myoglobin Fold (1987)
The eight alpha helices form a watertight pocket for the heme (red
disc), where oxygen is reversibly bound to the central iron atom.
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0182.jpg
557K,
1034x909 pixels.
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accompany image:
©2000 Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
Image may not be distributed or further reproduced
without permission.
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Tomato Bushy
Stunt Virus (1984)
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0562.jpg
1179K,
1081x1123 pixels.
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©2000 Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
Image may not be distributed or further reproduced
without permission.
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DNA (1984)
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0539.jpg
348K,
496x1139 pixels.
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©2000 Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
Image may not be distributed or further reproduced
without permission.
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Irving Geis
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geis.jpg
312K,
1207x997 pixels.
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Photo: Sandy Geis
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Photo: Sandy Geis
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Howard Hughes
