In 1934, William Holland Wilmer's Atlas Fundus Oculi was published. This preeminent color atlas of the retina and choroid remains one of the most authoritative texts on the subject.

Illustrations for the book were created by Annette Smith Burgess, pictured, who was the first ophthalmic illustrator at the Wilmer Eye Institute. She served in the role from 1926 to 1962.

The first 20 of the Atlas’ 100 color images show normal fundi and common anomalies. The remaining 80 depict various eye pathologies. Burgess's illustrations have been essential for education, research and patient care for decades.

Wilmer, in collaboration with the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has opened a new spectacular exhibit, "A Century of Wilmer Illustrations: The Legacy of Annette Burgess from 1925 to the present." The exhibit provides context for her career as the world’s finest ophthalmological illustrator. Sixteen pieces of artwork by other Wilmer illustrators are included in the exhibit.

The exhibit features two original watercolor paintings, 14 additional color reproductions of her paintings, all of which were published in Atlas Fundus Oculi, and, in addition, approximately 70 fundus and other illustrations that were previously unpublished.

Artifacts related to the creation and publishing of the Atlas at the Hoen Lithographic Company are on display.

View the exhibit on the fourth floor of Wilmer's Maumenee building.