Patrick Comerford
During our visit to Milton Keynes University Hospital last week, to mark the second anniversary of my stroke, I was taken by ‘The Mother and Child’ sculpture by Glynn Williams in a courtyard near the ward where I stayed in 2022 and close to the magnolia where sat sitting coffee on many afternoons during those two weeks two years ago.
This sculpture was originally in a local park in Conniburrow, near central Milton Keynes. It has since been moved to the hospital grounds, where ‘The Mother and Child’ is now part of the hospital’s art collection.
The artist Glynn Williams was Head of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1990 and then Head of Fine Art from 1995 to 2000. He has monumental pieces on public display, including a portrait of Lloyd George in Parliament Square and the Henry Purcell Memorial in Westminster.
His works are in collections in the Tate and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and among the 450 works that form the art collection in Milton Keynes University Hospital.
The Milton Keynes University Hospital art collection includes sculptures from nationally and internationally renowned artists, including Peter Randall-Page, Jon Buck and Glynn Williams. The collection ranges from paintings, prints and drawings to sculptural pieces, photography and commissioned works that are on public display in the corridors, waiting rooms, courtyards and wards.
The architecture of the hospital reflects the original ethos of the new town, where no building was to be taller than the tallest tree, and with great value placed on green spaces and natural light. This means the hospital is full of courtyard gardens. Four of the courtyards are looked after by Arts for Health, and they feature engaging sculptures within creative garden designs.
Since the hospital opened in 1984, evidence has built to show that artwork on display can and does have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of patients, visitors and staff in healthcare settings. The collection is looked after with this in mind, and careful thought is given to what artworks are placed where.
As well as improving the clinical environment, many of the artworks in the collection link the hospital to the local community by telling stories from the birth and development of the new town.
Some pieces were commissioned to mark special anniversaries of the hospital, others were donated by artists or individuals to thank the NHS for caring for their family.
I am back in the hospital tomorrow morning for yet another check-up, and two years after my stroke I am acutely aware of how much I have to be thankful for.
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