The presence of art in at least three major Detroit hospitals is due to the energy of Irene Walt and Grace Serra, Irene’s assistant and eventual successor. They worked with and provided funding for local, national, and international artists to execute commissions. Among them, this group of paintings for Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit Receiving Hospital, and Henry Ford Hospital.
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF MICHIGAN
nineteen 30" x 40" paintings for nineteen waiting rooms
Waiting rooms are both frightening and boring, especially to a child. The paintings below provide a cheerful distraction, and afford hospital personnel a fun way to interact with patients.
DETROIT RECEIVING HOSPITAL
97 linear feet of 24" high panels
Painted panels enliven the long and dimly-lit corridor connecting the emergency and operating rooms. Medical equipment and busy traffic scuff and mar walls, so the paintings were installed just below the ceiling.
HENRY FORD HOSPITAL
Three 65" x 60" paintings in the Surgical ICU
Three almost life-sized paintings illustrate common activities through different seasons of the year. Smaller framed work faces each one from across the corridor.
#1
Accompaniment to #1 (detail)
#2
Accompaniment to #2 (detail)
#3
Accompaniment to #3 (detail)
DETROIT RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Selected 48" x 120" Paintings for Psychiatric Unit
Detail: Flower panel
Detail: Fish panel
Detail: Butterfly panel
CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF MICHIGAN
178 linear feet of eye-level panels line the corridor walls of the outpatient psychiatric department.
RESIDENCE
REDDING, CONNECTICUT
Murals in oil surround indoor lap pool.
RESIDENCE
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICHIGAN
Adaptations from Fragonard and Watteau decorate a formal dining room.
Panel detail.
RESIDENCE
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN
19th century American landscape painting inspired this wrap-around bathroom mural.
Detail: client in his racing canoe.
RESIDENCE
OAK PARK, MICHIGAN
A painted alcove provides a habitat for the owners’ puppet collection.
