Ruth Morris Bakwin (1898 – July 31, 1985) was a noted
pediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
and child psychologist and the first woman intern at the Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York City (now the
New York Medical College
New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System.
NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the School o ...
). Bakwin and her husband, also a pediatrician, were long associated with
New York University School of Medicine
NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...
.
Biography
Bakwin was born in Chicago in 1898. Her parents were both scions of prominent families involved in the meat-packing industry in Chicago:
Edward Morris, son of the founder of
Morris & Company,
Nelson Morris; and
Helen Swift Morris, daughter of
Gustavus Swift, founder of
Swift & Co. Bakwin was educated at
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
and
Cornell University Medical School
The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York (state), New York.
Weill Cornell Medicine is af ...
.
While at Cornell, Bakwin started a fund to assist students at the school with financial need.
In 1925 Ruth and
Harry Bakwin married in Paris. Harry was also a pediatrician, and he had been one of the first physicians to diagnose a patient with
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
. While the Bakwins were in postgraduate training in Europe, they took up art appreciation. On a return visit to Europe in the late 1920s, they purchased
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
's 1890 version of ''
L'Arlésienne''. The Bakwins befriended several well-known artists, including
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
and
Chaïm Soutine
Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris.
Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...
.
Ruth Bakwin studied with
Anna Freud
Anna Freud (3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian-Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father and contribu ...
in Vienna.
[
Bakwin was a member of the Department of Pediatrics at the New York University Medical School from 1930 until her death. She was also Director of Pediatric Services at the New York Infirmary from 1936 to 1954 and was elected a member of its Board in 1961, and then became a trustee after the Infirmary merged with Beekman Hospital (now the ]New York Downtown Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is a nonprofit, acute care, teaching hospital in New York City and is the only hospital in Lower Manhattan south of Greenwich Village. It is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and one ...
) in 1979. With her husband, she co-authored several textbooks including the highly regarded ''Clinical Management of Behavior Disorders in Children'' (1968).
In 1950 she received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award
Hobart and William Smith Colleges are private liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 majors and 68 minors with degrees in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelo ...
for her distinguished career in pediatrics from the New York Infirmary. In 1983 she won the Alumnae Achievement Award at Wellesley College.
Personal life and death
She and her husband had four children: Edward Bakwin, Michael Bakwin, Barbara Bakwin Rosenthal, and Patricia Bakwin Selch. While on vacation in 1985 in Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak (Alutiiq: , russian: Кадьяк), formerly Paul's Harbor, is the main city and one of seven communities on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. All commercial transportation between the island's communities and the outside wo ...
, Bakwin died of a heart attack. She was predeceased by her husband in 1973. In 2006 Bakwin's son Edward sold '' L'Arlésienne'' by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
at Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in New York for $40.3 million.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakwin, Ruth Morris
1898 births
1985 deaths
American pediatricians
Women pediatricians
American people of German-Jewish descent
Weill Cornell Medical College alumni
People from Chicago
Wellesley College alumni
American women psychologists
20th-century American psychologists
New York University Grossman School of Medicine faculty
American art collectors
Women art collectors
Morris family (meatpacking)
20th-century American women
American women academics