Eye disease has affected many important figures in the history of art. Examples include Claude Monet, a founder of Impressionism who became blind from cataracts. One eye was operated on successfully, but he refused to have the other eye done. Surgery was less successful for Mary Cassatt and Rosalba Carriera. Edgar Degas lost his central vision from what was, in all likelihood, macular degeneration. James Thurber became blind from sympathetic ophthalmia following a childhood accident.
Dr. James G. Ravin received a BA degree with distinction and honors in the history of art and an MD degree from the University of Michigan followed by residency in ophthalmology at the University of Michigan Medical Center while obtaining an MS degree. Currently Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Toledo College of Medicine he has co-authored two books on the ocular problems of artists, contributed chapters to 7 other books, and written 80 some publications in peer reviewed journals.
This lecture series was established in honor of the extraordinary Chang family who link art and medicine. Dr. Cheng-Yang Chang was the first pediatric urologist at UM and a steadfast supporter of the Urology Department. Son of the esteemed Chinese painter Ku-Nien Chang, Dr. Chang funded “The Shirley Chang Gallery of Chinese Art” in the UM Museum of Art expansion, in honor of his late wife.