For Immediate Release	Contact: Joyce Brennan
November 12, 2008	508-961-5270
	brennanj@southcoast.org
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Replica of English painter J.M.W. Turner's famous St. Benedetto looking towards Fusina, painted by Louisa Ricketson

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — St. Luke's Hospital today unveiled three historical oil paintings on loan from The New Bedford Free Public Library. The oil paintings are hanging in the hospital's main lobby. This is the first time the library has made a long-term loan to a non-governmental agency and a health care facility.

"We are grateful to the New Bedford Free Public Library and its trustees for sharing these esteemed paintings with our patients and staff. Like our hospitals, we recognize that our region's culture and history are a vital part of the community and this momentous occasion is an extension of our shared mission," said John B. Day, President & CEO of Southcoast Health System.

Replica of English painter J.M.W. Turner's famous The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, painted by unknown artist

"We hope that these particular works of art, which reflect the culture, atmosphere and environment that make New Bedford so treasured, will give our patients and their families' great comfort."

The New Bedford Free Public Library's Director, Stephen Fulchino, said that because the St. Luke's "Art of Healing" initiative offers a tangible demonstration of the emotional power art can have, it seemed a natural fit for the library.

"The art collection of the New Bedford Free Public Library is the public art collection of the City of New Bedford. I cannot think of a better place to display some of its pieces than St. Luke's Hospital," Fulchino said.

The New Bedford Free Public Library's art collection encompasses pieces from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Soon after its founding in the 1850s, the library began to collect paintings, sculpture, prints and drawings through donations from prominent citizens, making it the city's first "museum."

Whaleship and Whale, an original by oil painting by New Bedford's own Humbero da Silva Fernandes

The three paintings on loan to the hospital are reflective of European influence on the region and New Bedford's rich maritime lineage. Included are replicas of English painter J.M.W. Turner's famous St. Benedetto looking towards Fusina, painted by Louisa Ricketson, the granddaughter of New Bedford's first historian, Daniel Ricketson, and The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, a 19th century painting by an unknown artist and donated to the library by Florence Waite. Whaleship and Whale, an original by oil painting by New Bedford's own Humbero da Silva Fernandes. Fernandes was a Portuguese-American who came to New Bedford from the Azores in 1956.

"Displayed in a hospital setting, art transforms often sterile surroundings into a familiar, more comforting place that improves recuperation and inspires staff morale," said Barbara H. Mulville, CFRE, Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Southcoast Health System, who spearheaded the "Art of Healing" project during the $33 million construction of the new St. Luke's in 2006. "Art, similar to Southcoast Hospitals, contributes to the well being of all who live in our region."

More information about the "Art of Healing" project can be found at www.southcoast.org/stlukes/art/.

About Southcoast

Southcoast Health System is a community based health delivery system with multiple access points, offering an integrated continuum of health services throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and East Bay, Rhode Island. It includes the three hospitals that make up Southcoast Hospitals Group — Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham.

Southcoast provides advanced clinical services, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty and heart rhythm services, neurosurgery, weight loss surgery, orthopedic surgery and advanced imaging services. Southcoast is a not-for-profit charitable organization that depends on the support of the community to provide services.

More information is available online at www.southcoast.org.

Media Contact

Joyce Faria Brennan
Public Information Officer
Phone: 508-961-5270
Pager: 508-387-9605
Fax: 508-961-5876
brennanj@southcoast.org