Home may be on the range, in an operating room or in an art studio. In each setting Ben Wilson, MD '44, feels comfortable, probably because he's "been there - done that" before. Dr. Wilson is one of those unique individuals who not only has multiple talents but has actualized them through three diverse careers. He has been a general surgeon, a cattle rancher and now, at the age of 77, is an accomplished artist. He has been commissioned by the IUSM Office of Development to create bronze likenesses of each of the School's former living deans.
His bronze bust of Dean Emeritus Glenn Irwin Jr., MD '44, already graces the lobby of the Medical Research and Library Building, and in May, alumni and friends will dedicate a second bust, that of Dean Emeritus Walter Daly, MD '55. Dr. Wilson already has begun work on a bust of Purdue University President Steven Beering, MD, who served as dean of the School of Medicine from 1974 to 1983. The bas relief of Dr. and Mrs. Irwin which also adorns the lobby is the work of Dr.Wilson's wife Nancy.
While the change from physician to sculptor may seem dramatic, Dr. Wilson's current career is not so different from his first, he explains. His knowledge of anatomy from his years as a surgeon helped him immensely when he turned his attention to sculpture. His interest in art was encouraged by his wife, who is a juried artist. Her works in oil, watercolor and sculpture are in homes and collections across the country. She also works and teaches in the couple's studio in Scottsdale Arizona. Currently engaged in the study of the Asian influence upon contemporary western art, Nancy Wilson's study has twice taken the couple to China, prompting her to begin the enormous undertaking of learning the Chinese language. She has been invited to exhibit her ink and water paintings, which use a unique Chinese technique, in Beijing and Chengdu in 1999.
In addition to his wife's support, Dr. Wilson praises his first teacher, Helen Blair Crosbie, whose lecture to the Arizona Art Guild piqued his interest in sculpture. "I became enthralled with her message, which was that every person has a little bit of artist in them," says Dr. Wilson. His first attempt, "Male Torso," was good enough to be committed to bronze. Much to his delight, the first casting of the work was purchased by the art critic for the Phoenix newspaper, and Dr. Wilson's journey as an artist began in earnest.
Just as Ms. Crosbie served as his artistic mentor, a surgeon who led by example set the path for Dr. WilsonÕs medical career. His medical mentor espoused a steadfast message: surgery requires dedication and skill coupled with a balance of humanity and compassion. That mentor, Carl A. Moyer, MD, became the figurative model for one of Dr. Wilson's most accomplished and successful pieces. "The Mentor" is a full-figure bronze statue which stands at one of the entrances to University Hospital at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The piece was commissioned by Margaret McDermott, a philanthropist and benefactor of the medical school and the widow of the chairman of Texas Instruments.
"Another reason I'm proud of this piece," says Dr. Wilson, "is that Mrs. McDermott liked it so much that she purchased the maquette (the preliminary model for the statue), which was enlarged for her personal collection."
In fact, Dr. Wilson's completed commissions could serve as the beginning of a Who's Who in the world of academic medicine. Many of his bronze or marble busts of leaders in the field are displayed at schools of medicine in the Midwest and West. His self-portrait, a bronze bust, is displayed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he served for eight years as the first full-time chairman of the Department of Surgery.
"At age 32, I was the youngest chairman of an academic department of surgery in the U.S." Dr. Wilson recalls. At age 40, after eight years of concentrated effort developing and expanding the department, Dr. Wilson and his family headed for high ground, literally. He moved to the western slope of the Rockies where he became chief of surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Leaving academic medicine was a difficult decision, but Dr. Wilson said that he had developed the department to the point that the time required for administrative work interfered with his teaching and research. Another factor in the decision were his four children who, even in the 1950s, were developing what he terms "the Neiman Marcus mentality" of wanting designer labels in their clothes.
"I knew that was not important and not the message we wanted to give our children," he comments. He remained in private practice in general surgery until 1976 when he turned his full attention to the cattle ranch he had started shortly after his arrival in Grand Junction in 1960. of his dual career were tiring ones, Dr. Wilson admits. Rounds were at 7 a.m. with surgeries beginning at 8 a.m. That meant he was up at 4 a.m. in time to do chores, get dressed and drive the 60 miles to town in his Jeep. "Oh golly," he laughs,"those were frigid mornings." All the blankets in the world couldn't keep him warm in his less-than-air-tight Jeep.
As might be expected of a man with his focus and zest for life, Dr. Wilson applied his medical knowledge to his cattle ranching, serving as a consultant for Curtiss Breeding Inc. during the early days of embryo transfer in beef cattle. Although he didn't apply the methods to his small herd, he traveled near and far to large corporate-run ranches to explore the possibilities which eventually led to the elevation of the standards across the entire beef industry.
In 1982, Dr. Wilson retired from ranching. He was running his spread alone: mending fences broken down by 10 feet of snow, riding in roundups and enduring many sleepless nights during calving season. He decided the work was better suited to a younger man. Or so he says. Now he spends 40-plus hours a week on his third career Š sculpting and working in the art studio and gallery he and his wife operate.