"The Art of Medicine and the Science of the Sale: Smith, Kline & French Co., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Ars Medica Collection"

Through much of the twentieth century, pharmaceutical companies did not engage in direct to consumer advertising. Instead, companies advertised themselves as consistent producers of quality medicines and created advertisements that supported the medical profession. As part of their advertising and public relations, pharmaceutical companies engaged in the development of art and history collections as a means of enshrining their place in the narrative of the history of medicine. Several major companies developed such programs. The Upjohn Company developed an exhibit with the Smithsonian that demonstrated the history of pharmaceutical manufacturing. Parke, Davis & Co. developed a series of historical paintings that chronicled the history of medicine. As the subject for this study, Smith, Kline & French Co. (SKF) created and donated a collection of medical prints for the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) in 1948. This donation signaled the beginning of a decades long relationship between the company and the museum.
After the initial donation, SKF created a fund for the continued development of the Ars Medica collection. The company’s relationship with the museum and the collection changed with the economic, social, and political landscape of pharmaceuticals. The collection became an opportunity for the company to host events with or at the museum and to develop a traveling exhibit beneficial to SKF. For example, in 1989, the exhibit traveled to Japan where it was hosted by SKF Japan at a time when the Japanese pharmaceutical industry was becoming a major competitor with American pharmaceutical companies. The initial donation by SKF became a long term public relations tool. In this way, the philanthropic relationship between the PMA and SKF demonstrates how SKF used its relationship with the PMA to position itself within the history of medicine while advertising itself and its products to medical professionals and the general public.