The Art of Care

While some museums are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are currently open as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art reopened, along with five other institutions in the city, on 8 January, offering another chance to see this broad-ranging display of artworks, posters and archival materials relating to the provision of medical care over the last century (until 4 April). The exhibition looks in particular at care in times of crisis, exploring how images have been used to celebrate caregivers – whether professional medics or informal community networks – and to advocate for social reform. Highlights include Elizabeth Catlett’s portrait of an army nurse during the Second World War, and images from W. Eugene Smith’s famous photo essay of 1951 depicting the work of Maude Callen, a nurse and midwife from South Carolina. Find out more from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Army Nurse (1998), Elizabeth Catlett. Courtesy the Philadelphia Museum of Art; © Catlett Mora Family Trust

Hashika Yakubyo Yoke (Protection from the Measles Epidemic) (1862), Ichieisai Yoshitsuya. Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Operation (c. 1980), Ellen Powell Tiberino. Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

Children’s Clinic (#2) (1936), Mabel Dwight. Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

Untitled (from Nurse Midwife) (1951), W. Eugene Smith. Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art