Alfred Blalock, Photographed by Yousuf Karsh

The blue baby surgery that Vivien Thomas created made Alfred Blalock famous and brought acclaim and money to Hopkins. In 1950, it hired the master portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh to photograph Blalock, but not Taussig. Later, the Blalocks threw a spur-of-the-moment party so that their guests could select the best image of the surgeon. Thomas, who had been bartending at Blalock’s parties for extra income, was invited as a party guest for the first and last time. Otherwise, he was never invited to socialize with the surgeons whom he trained. Blalock gave a copy of his Karsh photo to Thomas, inscribing it, “All good wishes to Vivien Thomas, to whom I owe so much.”