Draw the Collections With Forensic Artist Kathleen Gallo

Draw the Collections with current Artist-in-Residence, Kathleen Gallo. As you draw alongside Gallo in this workshop, she will explain the anatomy of the skull and share her knowledge of observational drawing techniques. Explore the key elements that make a drawing accurate, including shape, form, volume, mass, as well as how light moves around an organic form and how to properly use the tonal scale. The toned paper that will be used in this workshop will act as the mid-tone, with the varying softness of charcoal and the white pastel as the darker tone and highlights. Gallo will be teaching this workshop using the trephinated/elongated ancient Peruvian skulls from the International Museum of Surgical Science’s collection in conversation with her current exhibition Brushes With Death: Examining the Human Condition.

Gallo received her BFA at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2020. She gained her training in anatomy through intensive studio anatomy courses with medical illustrator Roberto Osti, cadaver dissections at Hahnemann Hospital, auditing physical anthropology courses at the University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Janet Monge, and reconstruction workshops with forensic artist Joe Mullins at The New York Academy of Art. Gallo has created archaeological and forensic works for the International Museum of Surgical Science and the Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology as well as post-mortem facial reconstructions for Pima County PD, the Mutter Museum, and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This workshop will be a glimpse into her professional drawing practice.

Materials Needed

Required

18 x 24 inch drawing pad with 80-100lbs paper (preferably toned paper such as a tan or grey)

Drawing board that will fit your paper size (18 x 24 or larger)

An easel of some sort (collapsible metal easels can be purchased for around $20 on amazon)

Willow and or vine charcoal for lighter mark-making

Compressed charcoal for darker mark-making (Conté à Paris charcoal pencils: HB, B, 2B, and 3B preferred)

White pastel

Kneaded eraser and chamois for erasing and moving the charcoal around

Tortillion (blending stump) and workshop paper towel

Plumbline and ruler

X-Acto blade

Recommended

Basic Human Anatomy: An Essential Visual Guide for Artists by Roberto Osti

This book can be purchased on Amazon. While it is not necessary for the workshop, it is extremely helpful when studying the human form through visual arts.

About the Collections:

Medical artifacts, apparatus and instruments comprise the bulk of the material in the Museum’s collections. Over 7,000 medical artifacts spanning centuries of worldwide medical history, from acupuncture to X-ray therapy, are represented in the collections.

Among the exceptional artifacts are an Austrian amputation saw with reversible blade (c. 1500); original X-rays taken by radiology pioneer Emil Grubbé (c. 1910); the Lindbergh perfusion pump, which enabled doctors to keep organs functioning outside the body, invented by the renowned aviator Charles Lindbergh and Nobel Prize-winning surgeon Alexis Carrel (1935); and a unique collection of trephined skulls from ancient Peru.

Fine art is featured in the collections through over 600 paintings, prints and sculptures, primarily portraits of individuals and historical depictions of specific procedures or events. Highlights include a portrait of Dr. Edward Jenner by John Russell (1790), and a plaster cast made from the death mask of Napoleon (1821). Significant artworks were commissioned by the Museum for the collection in 1950-53 including the Hall of Immortals and Hall of Murals. The Italian painter Gregorio Calvi di Bergolo (1904-1994) was commissioned in 1953 to paint 12 mural panels in oils for this room to illustrate the development of surgery throughout the ages. The Museum’s Hall of Immortal statues are attributed to sculptors Louis Linck and Édouard Chassaing.

FAQs:

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?

This program is for all ages.

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

Parking and direction information can be found here: https://imss.org/plan-your-visit/

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Contact us with any questions at 312-642-6502 or at [email protected].

Is the Museum and event accessible?

The Museum is accessible by ramp entrances and elevator that goes to all four floors.

Masks are required regardless of vaccination status.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

International Museum of Surgical Science, 1524 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, United States