In 1865 the Great Hall was enlarged by the architect David Bryce, who ordered the roundel portraits from George MacCallum. MacCallum was paid four pounds per profile, a total of £60 for the set of 15 ‘Heads with wreaths’.
The portraits appear along the frieze in the Great Hall. Each of the figures in the roundel portraits is surrounded by a laurel wreath which is both an aesthetic, decorative feature, and a classical symbol which emphasises the importance of the figure depicted in the portrait.
This profile offers a typical depiction of Harvey, complete with goatee. Moreover, similarities can be observed between this portrayal and the College's two busts of Harvey and the statuette of Harvey which are also found in the collection.
William Harvey (1578 – 1657)
William Harvey is one of the most significant figures in British medical history. Harvey’s most famous work is Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus (1628) which details his discovery of the circulation of the blood which disproved Galenic theories about the heart and circulation of the blood.