ISSN 1049-2259
Spring/Fall 2000 Vo!. 12 No. 2IVo!. 13 No. 1
NURSING IS THE SUBJECT OF T HE N IGHTINGALE'S SONG, AN E XHIBITION OF WORKS ON P APER AT THE PmLADELPfllA M USEUM OF
ART
The Nightingale's Song, a diverting and in structive exhi bition exploring the subject of nurses and nursing, will be on view in the Bemlan Gallery of the Philadelphia M cum of Art from August 26 through October 29, 2000. Drawn entirely from the Museum's remarkabl Ars Medica Collection, the 80 prints , drawings, and photogra phs in the show span six cen luries and four cont.inents: from late 15th-century Europe (the treatment of a German plague victim) to mid- 19th-century Asia (Florence Nightingale ' s military hospital in Turkey during the Crimean W ar) to 20th-centur f Africa (a Red Cross tent in Zaire in the 1920s) and the United S tates (the back-roads r unds of Maude Callen. an African American mid- ife in North Carolina in the 1950s). The tone and m ssages conveyed by the works on view are equally broad, ranging from th inspi ri ng and cautionary to the satirical. the charming, and the downright fu nny. TIlis is the first ti me that nursing has been the foc us of an ex hibit in a major American museum. Th e Nightingale's Song is third in a recent series of topical exhibitions of works on paper selected from the Museum's rs Medica Collec tion. The Collection is curated by William H . Helfand, a noted auth rity on the history of art and medicine, and aUlhor of the fully-illustrated catalogues complementing the series. The prints, drawings and photographs in the exhibi tion have been chosen from a much larger group in support of the activities of the Center for the Study of the History of Nursing. Mr. Helfand is a member of the Center 's Advisory Board. F und ing for the publicati on accompanying The Nightingale 's Song was made possib le by Bayada N urses . OCTOBER
4 2000 - G ALA AND
Center/or The Study of The History of Nursing UNIVf-RSI"fY OF PEN 'SYLVANIA
('HOOt. OF NL:RSlNG
A WARDS
R ECEPTION
CEREMONY
In concert with the museum 's artistic tribute to nurs ing, the Center for The Study of The H istory of Nursing will host a gala event in celebration of nursing on October 4, 2000. The eve nt will al so celebrate indi Song sheet cover for "The Nig h!ingale' s SOllg to the vi dua l nurses with "Nursin g Sick and Wr)l.mded" c. 18 75 , Philadelphia Museum Legacy A wards" for their signiJi
of Art, The William H. Heljill1d Colfection cant contri butions to cli nical
ca re. Thus, the exhibit and gala reception will draw public attention and recognition
to the crucial role of nurses in healthcare throughout history and in the present day.
(co ntim/ed on p(l0e 3 )