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

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