Robert J. Demarest

Robert J. Demarest

Hawthorne - On Monday, November 19th, 2018, Robert J. Demarest, loving husband, father, grandfather and friend passed away at the age of 90. Robert grew up in Glen Rock, NJ where he met his wife Alice, and raised his family.

Robert graduated from Massachusetts General Hospital School of Medical Illustration and completed the W.B.Saunders Fellowship at the University Of Pennsylvania Medical School. Robert's four-decade professional career was spent at Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons, as Chief Medical Illustrator and as Director of their Center for Biomedical Communication. His records and medical illustrations are now part of the permanent archives of the Columbia Library of the Health Sciences.

He twice served as president of the Association of Medical Illustrators (1967-1968 and 1988-1989) and served as chairman of its board and was selected as a Fellow of the AMI. The Fellows program honors members for continued dedication, participation and work in support of the AMI. Among Robert's numerous awards are six Ralph Sweet Awards, and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award from the Association of Medical Illustrators and the coveted Crosby Medal for his service to medicine from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Robert was the ultimate artist-scholar whose consistent goal was to create medical illustrations that were both beautiful and medically and surgically accurate. His work has appeared in medical textbooks, research papers, medical journals, pharmaceutical advertisements and popular magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, Reader's Digest, Life, Newsweek and Time.

Outside of medicine, Robert's passion was fly-fishing and watercolor painting. After his retirement, his study of Winslow Homer lead to a multi-year odyssey, culminating in his authorship of the book, Traveling with Winslow Homer. Robert lectured extensively on Homer at museums and organizations across the country. He had numerous one-person exhibitions and his paintings won many awards including, the 2010 New Jersey Watercolor Award and the 2011 Holbien Award. He recently wrote and illustrated his final book, Anatomy of Figure Drawing: Secrets of a Master Medical Artist. Robert was also a proud member of the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, NJ and believed in the eternal promise of a better world for all people.

Robert spent sixty-eight wonderful years with the love of his life, Alice, affectionately known to Robert as "Sam" - with whom he traveled the world from Costa Rica to the French Alps; from the fishing cabins of Lake Gananoque, Ontario to the seaside fortresses of Havana. There is no person in this world Robert loved and cherished more. He is survived by his wife, Alice; his three children: Steven, and his wife, Sherri; Robert and his wife Laura; and Nancy O'Donnell and her husband, Patrick; and his five grandchildren, Lauren Demarest, Timothy O'Donnell, Quinn Demarest, Zoe Demarest and Brett O'Donnell; and his sister Patricia Holtham.

The family plans to have a "Celebration of Robert's Life" at some point in early 2019. If you would like to attend or send a note in remembrance of Robert, please leave your name and address at the following email address: WalkerN56@yahoo.com.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to Robert's favorite charity, Doctors Without Borders, would be appreciated. (www.doctorswithoutborders.org)