Object Details
- Exhibition Label
- James Watson and his collaborator Francis Crick won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for their 1953 discovery of the double-helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Understanding the configuration of DNA— the carrier of genetic information for most living organisms—paved the way for groundbreaking research on human diseases. Watson spent many years directing the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, teaching and writing influential books. He retired in 2007, however, after suggesting that the intelligence of those of African descent might not be the same as that of other people.
- This was the very first portrait commissioned by the Cummings, working with D. Dodge Thompson, and the only one for which they did not select the artist. The figurative painter Jack Beal captured Watson in his Cold Spring Harbor office, which was filled with many objects and images related to his work and awards, including his Nobel Prize citation.
- James Watson y su colaborador Francis Crick, ganaron el Premio Nobel en 1962 por haber descubierto en 1953 la estructura en doble hélice del ácido desoxirribonucleico (ADN). El hallazgo de la configuración del ADN (portador de la información genética en la mayoría de los organismos vivientes) abrió camino a una nueva etapa en la investigación de las enfermedades humanas. Watson dirigió por muchos años el Laboratorio de Cold Spring Harbor, además de dictar clases y escribir influyentes libros. No obstante, se retiró en 2007 a raíz de insinuar que era posible que los afrodescendientes no tuvieran la misma inteligencia que otras personas.
- Este fue el primer retrato que encargaron los Cumming, asesorados por D. Dodge Thompson, y el único en que no seleccionaron al artista. El pintor figurativo Jack Beal captó a Watson en su oficina de Cold Spring Harbor, llena de objetos, imágenes y premios relativos a su trabajo, incluido el Nobel.
- Provenance
- Anonymous loan to the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 1996-2001.
- Data Source
- National Portrait Gallery
- Artist
- Jack Beal, 25 Jun 1931 - 29 Aug 2013
- Sitter
- James Dewey Watson, born 6 Apr 1928
- Date
- 1995
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Annette P. Cumming
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Stretcher: 167.6 × 121.3 cm (66 × 47 3/4")
- Frame: 170.2 × 127 × 5.7 cm (67 × 50 × 2 1/4")
- Type
- Painting
