An oil painting of Dr. John Beale Davidge, co-founder of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, was discovered at a shuttered Baltimore restaurant called Bertha's Mussels. The portrait, believed to date to 1844, was found by Carolyn Brownley while clearing the space for a foreclosure auction. It was purchased by Meg Fielding, director of the History of Maryland Medicine at MedChi, and donated to the Medical Alumni Association. The painting now hangs in Davidge Hall, the historic medical school building named after Davidge, which is currently under renovation until late 2026.
This discovery matters because it is the only known 19th-century portrait of Davidge, a pioneering surgeon who treated patients during Baltimore's 1797 yellow fever epidemic and helped establish the College of Medicine in Maryland in 1807. The painting fills a historical gap after a black-and-white photo of Davidge was stolen in the 1990s. Its return to the medical school reconnects the institution with a tangible piece of its early history, offering a rare visual link to one of its founders and enriching the school's heritage.