Key Object Page

'Gunshot wound of the humerus' by Charles Bell, oil on canvas

Bell’s catalogue entry states: ‘In this sketch in oil the apparently trifling nature of the wound, is represented. Through such a wound however the finger can be introduced, and if the bone be shattered, as in this instance, jagged points of the fragments will be felt, all around. The observation made to me on this very case was to this effect, when I feel the bone broken merely I do not amputate, but when I feel it thus, the finger passing through the bone, this is the case for amputation.’ The Corunna Oils, Bell Collection B.C.xvii.25