NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department Completes Conservation of Major Works by Black Artists at Harlem Hospital

NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department Completes Conservation of Major Works by Black Artists at Harlem Hospital

From the Depression-era murals of the Works Progress Administration to John Rhoden's monumental sculpture The Family, these works reflect Harlem Hospital's enduring commitment to the arts as essential to health

The conservation ensures these historic works are preserved for future generations

Oct 14, 2026

NYC Health + Hospitals' Arts in Medicine department today announced the completion of conservation work on several of the most significant works by Black artists in its collection-three Depression-era murals of the Federal Art Project and John Rhoden's monumental bronze The Family, which stands above the hospital's entrance at 506 Lenox Avenue.

Located in the Mural Pavilion at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, the three murals represent one of the most significant collections of Black art from the Depression era. Created under the New Deal of the Works Progress Administration, these works mark a watershed moment when Black artists fought for and won access to major public commissions. Charles Alston-the first African American supervisor in the Federal Art Project-created two companion murals that remain essential works in American art history. Magic in Medicine (1940) and Modern Medicine (1940) juxtapose traditional healing practices across cultures with contemporary medical science, depicting a racially integrated hospital staff-a radical vision of equality for its time. Vertis Hayes created the monumental Pursuit of Happiness (1937), spanning 800 square feet across eight panels. This sweeping visual narrative traces the arc of African American history from ancestral African villages to 20th-century professional and cultural achievement. The Harlem Hospital murals join a group of landmark works conserved with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2025 support of the Arts in Medicine department, a commitment that has enabled the restoration of some of the collection's most consequential pieces. Foreground Conservation & Decorative Arts completed the work on site over a two-week period earlier this year.

"The Arts in Medicine department is entrusted with a collection that tells the story of public art and public health together," said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Arts in Medicine Larissa Trinder. "Conserving works like the Harlem Hospital murals ensures the histories they carry, of Black artistic achievement, of a vision for a racially integrated medical profession, remain visible for the generations who follow. That same lineage lives in the work we commission today through our Community Mural Project, inviting contemporary artists to tell the stories of the communities who staff our system and the patients they serve."

"Harlem, New York, is widely recognized as the mecca of Black artistic achievement," said NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem Chief Executive Officer Georges H. Leconte, MPA, FAB. "At Harlem Hospital, we understand the powerful intersection of art and medicine, and how this partnership adds tremendous value to the care and healing of our community. I am pleased that the conservation work was undertaken to preserve these major art pieces. The works hold historical and cultural importance for both Harlem Hospital and the community it serves. Thanks to these preservation efforts, they can be appreciated for many generations to come."

"The mural hall at Harlem Hospital is an exceptional example of a successful rescue and re-location of a series of WPA murals that were in disrepair," said Dawn D'Aluisio and John Lippert, Conservationists at Foreground Conservation & Decorative Arts. "The design and installation of both the Charles Alston and Vertis Hayes murals furthers the integrity of the Health and Hospitals Art in Medicines goal of providing a public space for visitors and staff to benefit from these important historical art works. It takes diligent stewardship to maintain works of this nature. Foreground Conservation is proud to provide our expertise for the conservation that is necessary and to help guide NYC Health + Hospitals for conservation going forward."

Arts in Medicine also completed the conservation of John Rhoden's The Family (1969), the bronze sculpture that rises above the entrance to Harlem Hospital. Standing 22 feet high, the work depicts a family held aloft by hands that appear to extend from the hospital itself, supported by the Rod of Asclepius, the ancient symbol of medicine. The Family is one of three sculptures Rhoden created for NYC Health + Hospitals between 1966 and 1970, alongside Mitochondria at Bellevue Hospital and Monumental Abstraction at Metropolitan Hospital. The conservation was completed by Tatti Conservation in 2026.

"In the spring of 2026, the Tatti Art Conservation team was honored to perform conservation work on John Rhoden's monumental bronze sculpture, The Family," said Zach Tatti, Fine Art Conservator at Tatti Art Conservation. "Commissioned in 1967 and unveiled in 1968, the sculpture has remained in its current location ever since. Nearly 60 years of exposure to the elements have created a unique patina shaped by the sculpture's form and specific weathering conditions. Tones of green, brown, and black across the surface reflect what the piece has endured over time. Our efforts aimed to visually harmonize the overall surface tones while preserving the underlying patina."

These works and others in the health care system's art collection are available to view on the NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine guide on Bloomberg Connects.

Charles Alston (1907-1977) was the supervisor of the Harlem Hospital Center Mural Project, leading a staff of 35 artists and assistants and becoming the first African American project supervisor of the Federal Art Project. Charles Alston was the first African American to teach at both the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Students League. His work is featured in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Detroit Institute of Art, Howard University, Butler Institute, and Atlanta University.

Vertis Hayes (1911-2000) was born in Atlanta and moved to New York City in the early 1930s to study art. By the time he became a master artist on the Harlem Hospital Center murals at the age of 25, he had already worked for the WPA as an assistant on the lobby of a high-school building that is now part of the Parsons School of Design. Vertis Hayes' work has been exhibited at Fisk University, Dillard University, Atlanta University, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Chicago Public Library. He was a founding member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters in 1969, and the Art Institute of Boston awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1971.

John Rhoden (1916-2001) was an American sculptor from Birmingham, Alabama. After relocating to New York in 1938, he studied painting and sculpture at Columbia University, later earning Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships. His work has been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), and numerous other institutions and public spaces. PAFA also houses the Rhoden collection, established to preserve, exhibit, and advance the enduring legacy of the artist through more than 300 works of art and 22 linear feet of archival materials.

The NYC Health + Hospitals art collection dates back to the 1930s, when the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project hired artists to create works for government buildings. Its collection of more than 8,000 artworks includes paintings, mosaics, photographs, sculptures, installation art, and murals by both emerging and established professional artists. The collection includes works by some of America's leading artists, such as Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Helen Frankenthaler, Mary Frank, Betty Blayton, Candida Alvarez, Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, and Keith Haring. More than an art collection, these works support the therapeutic milieu, build trust, engage staff and patients, and expand access to the arts for 46,000 employees and more than 1.2 million patients who receive care at NYC Health + Hospitals facilities.

In addition to managing the health system's art collection, the Arts in Medicine department presents a diverse portfolio of arts programming, including: live concerts at healthcare facilities through the Music for the Soul Concert series; art observation and discussion for staff through HHArt of Medicine; songwriting with professional musicians for parents through the Lullaby Project; and an active Artists in Residence program. Many of the department's initiatives are supported by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. A full overview of the Arts in Medicine department is available here.

###

MEDIA CONTACT: Press Office

#230-26

About NYC Health + Hospitals' Arts in Medicine Department
The Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals integrates the literary, visual, and performing arts across the nation's largest public hospital system to support patient care, staff wellbeing, and community health. Grounded in research, the department is recognized as an international leader in the field, positioning the arts as a core component of care, advancing emotional wellbeing, resilience, and recovery for staff and patients alike. Drawing on a collection with more than 8,000 works, Arts in Medicine curates environments that foster trust, belonging, and connection. Through systemwide initiatives and partnerships, the department embeds arts and cultural experiences across clinical and community settings, creating spaces and programs that are culturally resonant and responsive to the communities they serve. Using partnerships and program innovation, Arts in Medicine strengthens care environments across New York City and establishes the arts as an essential part of healing and human connection. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine.

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.