'The Dentist's Hands': An analysis of the portrait by Fiona Graham-Mackay.

One hundred and fifty years ago, a dentist practising in Tavistock signed off a letter to the editor of The British Journal of Dental Science, 'Suaviter et Fortiter'. This paper discusses the commissioning from the eminent portrait painter Fiona Graham-Mackay of a painting of a dentist's hands. In the course of the sittings, the artist commented that as the mirror and probe were picked up, the hands took on an authority they did not have before. If the portrait is successful, it is so in demonstrating the gentle but firm authority, suaviter et fortiter, of the profession.