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Percy L. Julian

Percy L. Julian
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Richard Ruh Epperly, 1891 - 1973
Sitter
Percy Lavon Julian, 11 Apr 1899 - 19 Apr 1975
Date
1952
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Stretcher: 81.9 × 66cm (32 1/4 × 26")
Frame: 92.7 × 78.1 × 5.7cm (36 1/2 × 30 3/4 × 2 1/4")
Topic
Interior
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair\Armchair
Percy Lavon Julian: Male
Percy Lavon Julian: Science and Technology\Scientist\Chemist
Portrait
Place
United States\Illinois\Cook\Oak Park
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Eugene V. Epperly
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 1952, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number
NPG.97.233
Exhibition Label
Born Montgomery, Alabama
A renowned research chemist and a strong advocate for civil rights, Percy Julian encountered and overcame prejudice throughout most of his life. After graduating from DePauw University in 1920 and receiving a master’s degree in chemistry from Harvard in 1923, Julian went to Europe to obtain a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Vienna. After teaching at Howard and DePauw, Julian joined the Glidden Company in Chicago, working to create chemical compounds from soybeans. He is best known for developing a method for synthesizing cortisone, which made that scarce drug, important for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, widely available. In 1950, when Julian and his family moved to the all-white community of Oak Park, Illinois, his home was set on fire and later firebombed. The artist, a fellow resident of Oak Park, created this painting just after those events.
Nacido en Montgomery, Alabama
Reconocido investigador químico y firme defensor de los derechos civiles, Percy Julian tuvo que enfrentar prejuicios gran parte de su vida. Después de graduarse de la Universidad DePauw en 1920 y obtener una maestría en química de Harvard en 1923, Julian pasó a Europa para estudiar su doctorado en química orgánica en la Universidad de Viena. Fue profesor en las universidades de Howard y DePauw, y más tarde trabajó con la Glidden Company en Chicago, donde colaboró en la creación de compuestos químicos a partir de la soya. Su mayor fama se debe a haber desarrollado un método para sintetizar la cortisona, lo cual permitió ampliar la disponibilidad del entonces escaso medicamento, tan importante en el tratamiento de la artritis reumatoide. En 1950, cuando Julian y su familia se trasladaron a Oak Park, una comunidad de residentes blancos en Illinois, su hogar fue incendiado y más tarde atacado con una bomba incendiaria. El artista Richard Epperly, un vecino de Oak Park, realizó esta pintura a raíz de aquellos sucesos.
Provenance
Eugene V. Epperly, Lake Ridge, Va., son of the artist; gift 1997 to NPG
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
20th Century Americans: 1930-1960
On View
NPG, South Gallery 321