UAMS grad presents paintings to NWA medical school

FAYETTEVILLE — Dr. John Cody, a retired psychiatrist and internationally recognized artist, was the center of attention at a recent reception at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest.

Cody, of Hays, Kan., presented 15 of his original watercolor paintings for display on the first floor of the College of the Medicine in the university’s satellite location. He earned his medical degree from UAMS in Little Rock in 1960, and several of his classmates came to see him at the reception Tuesday (May 8).

Cody is most known for his vivid paintings of moths, which garnered him the moniker of “Audubon of Moths.” He’s had one-man shows at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington. He is considered the be an authority on months and his paintings depict moths from around the world.

He received his undergraduate degree in zoology from St. John’s University before studying medical illustration at Johns University. He followed his medical degree at UAMS with additional training in psychiatry at the Menninger Clinic. Cody practiced psychiatry for 30 years.