TL;DR
NYC Health + Hospitals completed conservation work on three New Deal-era murals and a John Rhoden sculpture at Harlem Hospital on October 14. The works include paintings by Charles Alston and Vertis Hayes, created during a period when Black artists were seeking access to major public commissions.
NYC Health + Hospitals completed conservation work on three New Deal-era murals and a John Rhoden sculpture at Harlem Hospital on October 14, restoring artworks held in the hospital’s indoor mural pavilion. The project preserves works associated with the WPA’s Federal Art Project and a period when Black artists gained access to major public commissions.
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The restored paintings are Charles Alston’s companion murals Magic in Medicine and Modern Medicine, both dated 1940, and Vertis Hayes’s eight-panel mural Pursuit of Happiness, dated 1937. The conservation effort also included a sculpture by John Rhoden. The source report says the works are housed in Harlem Hospital’s indoor mural pavilion.
The work was carried out by NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine department, which completed the conservation on Wednesday, October 14, according to the report. It does not provide a detailed account of the restoration methods, the project’s cost, or whether the works were displayed publicly during the conservation process.
The murals were made during the Great Depression, when the Federal Art Project supported public commissions. The report places the artists’ work within a broader push by Black artists for access to prominent public projects. The hospital’s commission also became the subject of a dispute over the content of Hayes’s designs, according to Larissa Trinder, head of the Arts in Medicine program.
Preserving Harlem’s Public Art
The project keeps a group of New Deal-era artworks in the setting for which they were made: a public hospital. Their subjects and location connect art with the history of medicine and with the communities served by Harlem Hospital. Conservation helps protect the works as physical objects and retains a record of how public institutions represented health and society in the 1930s and 1940s.
The history described by Trinder also gives the restoration a significance beyond the condition of the paintings. The dispute over Hayes’s mural shows that public commissions could involve conflict over which subjects were considered acceptable. Preserving the completed works maintains evidence of both the artists’ achievements and the resistance they encountered.
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A Dispute Over Hayes’s Mural
Hayes submitted designs for Pursuit of Happiness in 1936. Trinder told Hyperallergic that administrators objected, saying there was “too much black subject matter.” The source report says the artists publicly protested the decision and that the hospital commissioner later reversed it, allowing the project to proceed.
The mural was completed in 1937, followed by Alston’s two companion works in 1940. They were made during a period when the WPA Federal Art Project opened opportunities for Black artists to secure major public commissions. The source identifies the Rhoden sculpture as part of the recent conservation project, but does not give its title or date.
““Too much black subject matter.””
— Larissa Trinder, head of NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine program
Restoration Details Not Disclosed
The source report confirms that conservation work was completed but does not explain which repairs were undertaken, how long the work lasted, or who performed the hands-on conservation. It also gives no project budget and does not describe the sculpture’s condition before treatment.
The report states that the work was completed on October 14 but does not specify the year in the supplied material. It is also unclear whether the pavilion is open to the general public, whether visitors can view all four works now, or whether the hospital plans further conservation projects.
Access and Future Preservation
The conservation work is reported as complete; the source does not identify a further project milestone or announce another restoration phase. The immediate next question for visitors is whether Harlem Hospital will provide public access to the pavilion or publish additional information about the works and their conservation.
NYC Health + Hospitals may also share further details about the methods, costs, and future care of the collection. Until then, the confirmed development is the completion of conservation on the three murals and Rhoden sculpture; any plans for expanded display or additional work remain unannounced in the source report.
Key Questions
Which murals were restored at Harlem Hospital?
The project covered Charles Alston’s Magic in Medicine and Modern Medicine, both dated 1940, and Vertis Hayes’s eight-panel Pursuit of Happiness, dated 1937.
Was another artwork included in the project?
Yes. The conservation work also included a sculpture by John Rhoden. The source report does not give its title or date.
Who completed the conservation work?
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine department completed the work, according to the report. It does not name individual conservators.
Why was there a dispute over Hayes’s mural?
Larissa Trinder said administrators objected to the designs submitted in 1936 because they thought there was “too much black subject matter.” The artists protested, and the hospital commissioner reversed the decision, according to the report.
Can the public see the restored works?
The works are located in Harlem Hospital’s indoor mural pavilion. The source does not say whether the pavilion is open to the general public or provide visitor information.
Source: rss
