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From the exhibition

'Orthodoxy' — Sir William Henry Broadbent

Leslie Ward · 30 October 1902

'Orthodoxy' — Sir William Henry Broadbent
Leslie Ward ('Spy') renders the eminent physician Sir William Henry Broadbent—baronet, Physician-Extraordinary to Edward VII—seated at a writing desk, pen in hand, in profile facing left. The caption 'orthodoxy' is a dry editorial verdict: Broadbent was the consummate Establishment doctor, conventional in method and impeccably connected. Ward's caricature exaggerates his broad, jowly face, mutton-chop whiskers, and heavy build, the standard Spy grammar for depicting a prosperous, self-satisfied Victorian professional. The dark frock coat and clerical-white collar underscore the caption's double meaning—medicine practiced as a kind of faith. The composition is characteristically relaxed: a man too secure in his reputation to glance up from the page.

Leslie Ward Public domain