Dr. Joseph R. Wilder, Surgeon/Artist
Bill Schenley
Dr. Joseph R. Wilder, a New York surgeon who also
became a well-known artist, died on July 1 at St.
Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. He was 82.
The cause of death was coronary arrest, his daughter
Piper said.
From the 1960's until his retirement in the mid-1980's,
Dr. Wilder was director of surgery at the Hospital for
Joint Diseases as well as a professor of surgery at
Mount Sinai Hospital.
In 1959, Dr. Wilder, who had vast experience treating
gunshot wounds and other serious injuries, was called
in to save the badly damaged leg of the actor Zero
Mostel, who had been hit by a New York bus. During
several months of treatment that included a number of
operations, they became friends, and Mr. Mostel
advised Dr. Wilder to follow his example and start
painting for relaxation.
Dr. Wilder quickly became a largely self-taught artist of
considerable skill, specializing in race cars, athletes and
surgical procedures. His pictures were exhibited at
galleries and museums including the Museum of Modern
Art in New York and the National Portrait Gallery in
Washington. He also published three books of his own
paintings.
Joseph Richard Wilder was born in Baltimore on Oct. 5,
1920. He attended Dartmouth College from 1939 to 1942
and was a doctor in the Air Force, among other jobs.
He is survived by his wife, Madeline; his children with
his former wife Ruth, Kathy W. Karlin, Tony and Piper;
and his children with his other former wife, Cynthia, Alyssa
and Nicholas.
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Wilder was inducted into the Lacross Hall of Fame in 1986.
He was an All-American while at Dartmouth.
http://www.lacrosse.org/museum/hofbios/wilder.phtml