Photograph of Dr Sutherland sitting at a table writing a letter. He is wearing a dark suit and is holding a quill in his right hand. The table is covered by a cloth and there is a large box on top of it. There is an animal fur on the chair he is sitting on and a cloth backdrop behind him. Dr Sutherland was the head of the Sanitary Commission sent to improve the military hospitals during the Crimean War. Through a series of basic measures the Commission succeeded in improving the standard of hygiene at the hospitals and reducing the death rate.