One of the first things most people notice when they enter the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library is a large painting that hangs by the stairs. Called The Hug, it was painted by Robert Pope and donated to the Kellogg Library by the Robert Pope Foundation. The painting was recently removed from the library so that it can be part of an exhibit at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) from Sept. 15-Dec. 9.

 

Robert Pope (1956-1992) was an artist based in Halifax whose career was cut short by cancer. While his disease was in remission, he completed the Illness and Healing collection, a series of paintings that show the cancer experience from the patient’s perspective. The AGNS exhibit featuring these works, including The Hug, is called Metamorphosis. On the 20th anniversary of Robert’s death, this moving exhibit will celebrate the artist and his belief in the power of art as preventive medicine that generates hope, healing and inspiration.

The Robert Pope Foundation has been crucial in funding the development of the Kellogg Library’s humanities in medicine collection. Two of Robert Pope’s books are available at the Kellogg Library: Illness & Healing: images of cancer and Shadow Area: images of illness and healing. Illness & Healing is distributed to first-year students in many Canadian medical schools and a set of 33 slides of his work are used as teaching tools in 12 countries. Robert Pope’s artistic legacy continues to resonate.

The painting will be returned to the Kellogg Library on February 1.