Rosalind Franklin, Artist’s Muse?

Photo 51
Rosalind Franklin, 1952

Rosalind Franklin: Photo 51
Denise Wyllie & Clare O Hagan, 2007

Via Lablit:

Wyllie and O Hagan first became interested in Franklin when they discovered her story while doing an art residency at a laboratory that researched DNA. Wyllie explains: “We were talking to a fellow artist about our project and she said, ‘Oh you know about Rosalind Franklin, of course’, but of course, we didn’t.” Intrigued, the artists researched Franklin’s story and were shocked by what they found. O Hagan says: “We were fuelled by anger that we knew nothing about Franklin’s work and that her work wasn’t recognised.”

I appreciate the sentiment, but is Rosalind Franklin really all that obscure and unrecognized? Watson and Crick sure got the glory fifty years ago, but Franklin’s reputation has undergone a renaissance. She is now better known than other important figures in the history of genetics, like Griffith, Chargaff, Meselson & Stahl, Hershey & Chase, or Barbara McClintock, and in order to “research Franklin’s story” you need go no further than NPR or PBS. Still, interesting art, and always a good thing to see Franklin’s contribution recognized. . .