Abstract
This paper sets out to discover more about the name ‘Tarrant’ whose ophthalmic paintings have regularly featured in ophthalmic textbooks over the past 50 years. Through a series of telephone calls, I have spoken to Tarrant about his life and work while I research the origins of ophthalmic illustrations charting the story behind this art movement. The paper also explores the eventual decline of retinal painting and the emergence of photography, concluding that due to the continuing advance of technology the ophthalmic photographer may eventually succumb to the same fate as the artist.
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Change history
10 August 2023
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02663-0
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The original online version of this article was revised: The name ‘Terence R. Tarrant’ was incorrectly given as ‘Terance R. Tarrant’. Additonally, the following footnote was added: “Whilst writing this article I received the news that Terence Tarrant sadly passed away aged 93 after a short illness. For 46 years Tarrant examined and documented patient’s eyes and the paintings he produced significantly contributed to British Ophthalmology. When studying his artwork one can easily identify if it’s a ‘Tarrant’. His signature and paintings are as recognisable as any long-established artist that features in any national gallery. It has been the honour of this author to share his story, covering the life and career of the last retinal artist”. The original online version of this article was revised due to a retrospective Open Access cancellation.
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Brett, J. Painting unknown worlds. Eye 37, 2886–2895 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02609-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02609-6
