Oregon Day of Culture

Today is Oregon Day of Culture, the final day of the week-long celebration of Oregon's arts and humanities. October 8 is the anniversary of the state tax credit program that provides funding to the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Is medicine culture? It seems to depend very much on whom you ask. Do health care institutions contain or produce anything worthy of celebration on a day such as today? An incontrovertible case can be made for a group of murals created by WPA artist Darrel Austin for the entryway to OHSU's Mackenzie Hall. The set of four paintings is also a textbook example of why we must treasure, preserve, and protect our cultural heritage: they're missing. All of them. But we still have black-and-white photos of the originals. To mark this day of celebration and remembrance, we include those images here for all Oregonians--and web surfers worldwide--to enjoy.

I: Evolution of Medical Education: Ignorance
II: Evolution of Medical Education: Doubt
III: Evolution of Medical Education: Revolt
IV: Evolution of Medical Education: Triumph