Event Details

Date: 10/13/26 
Time: 6-8pm (doors open 5:30pm) 
Location: The College of Physicians of Philadelphia (19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103)

This event organized by the College's Section on Medicine and the Arts will highlight the captivating portraiture in the College's collections through presentations by: physician/biographer Dr. Joe Lex (creator of the podcast “All Bones Considered”); art historian Dr. Siobhan Conaty; photographer, retired anesthesiologist, College Fellow, and Past College Board Chair, Dr. Andrea Baldeck; and the celebrated artist who painted Dr. Baldeck's portrait, Ms. Maureen Drdak. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Douglas Reifler, Chair of the Section on Medicine and the Arts at the College. 

As attendees settle into their seats in the College's historic Mitchell Hall, they will embark on a journey that breathes life into the portraits surrounding them. Dr. Joe Lex will walk them through fascinating stories, as only he can, about several individuals who are permanent residents at Laurel Hill Cemetery and whose portraits hang at the College for generations to see. Next, attendees will accompany art historian Dr. Siobhan Conaty as she explores of the longstanding relationship between artists and physicians through carefully selected portraits in the College’s collection, considering what these portraits reveal about both the physicians who commissioned them and the artists who brought them to life. And, finally, attendees will hear first-hand accounts from both the living subject of a College portrait and the artist who painted it - Dr. Andrea Baldeck and Ms. Maureen Drdak, respectively - as they lead attendees through their process. A lively Q&A session moderated by Section Chair, Dr. Douglas Reifler, will follow. 

 
About the Presenters

Dr. Joe Lex 
Dr. Joe Lex spent nearly half a century reviving lives, from his year as a medic in Vietnam to his career as a professor of emergency medicine, most recently at Temple University. The American Academy of Emergency Medicine named its Educator of the Year Award in his honor. After retiring in 2016, he continued that life-giving work in a new form: as a volunteer guide and podcaster sharing the stories of more than 500 people buried at Laurel Hill East and Laurel Hill West, many of whom might otherwise have been forgotten. 

Dr. Siobhan Conaty 
Dr. Siobhan Conaty is a Professor of Art History at La Salle University and a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Her work explores the connections between art and medicine, particularly how art history’s traditions of close looking and visual analysis can inform medical education and clinical practice. 

Dr. Andrea Baldeck
Retired anesthesiologist and active photographer, Andrea Baldeck is a Fellow who chaired the Board of the College at a time when she was just the second woman in its 230-year history to do so. Her photographic interests tend toward in-depth projects, one of which she pursued with the Mütter Museum and Historical Medical Library, leading to publication of the book Bones Books and Bell Jars and an accompanying exhibit at the College.

Ms. Maureen Drdak
Maureen Drdak is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Her work references universal paradigms of mythic archetypes -- both ancient and contemporary forces converge in her work. Her research has taken her to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, Nepal and the Himalayas. Drdak is the recipient of many honors, including the 2011 U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar Award for Nepal; her research pioneered the first material synthesis of repousse metalwork and painting. Her work is found in numerous public, private, and university collections within the US and abroad. Her exhibition history includes myriad solo and group exhibitions, international arts festivals, and invited museum and academic lectures. Her work was most recently acquired by the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. She has several published works to her credit. Drdak is former President and Advisor to the Board of the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

About the Moderator

Dr. Douglas Reifler
Douglas Reifler, MD, Chair of the College’s Section on Medicine and the Arts, is a primary care general internist and Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Medical Humanities at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) in Camden, NJ. Prior to assuming his current position in 2022, he held leadership positions at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, and at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine of Temple University.