Museum Meanderings: Jacob Lawrence Paintings and Rehabilitation Medicine

Newswise — NEW YORK— The great American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) painted three works of art of particular relevance to physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) including one painting that depicts one subject in the cycle of rehabilitation according to a new manuscript published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AJPM&R).

Due to the depression in 1949, Lawrence checked himself into Hillside Hospital in Queens, staying for a duration of 11 months. During that stay, Lawrence painted three pieces of artwork: Occupational Therapy (1949) which was later known as Occupational Therapy No. 1, Creative Therapy (1949), and Recreational Therapy (1949) which is now lost. In 1950, he painted Occupational Therapy No. 2.

“Upon looking at Occupational Therapy No. 1, we noticed something that had not been appreciated in a 1951 Ebony magazine article about the painting nor by a Christie’s auction notice from 2000,” says Eric Altschuler, MD, PhD, Associate Chief and Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Metropolitan Hospital and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York Medical College and the manuscript’s lead author. “The five women depicted in the painting are actually the same person! The painting is showing the cycle of rehabilitation.”

Dr. Altschuler praised the artist and the paintings, “Lawrence’s division of space is outstanding. Occupational Therapy No. 1, Occupational Therapy No. 2, and Creative Therapy are among Lawrence’s masterpieces and a source of endless fascination and inspiration.”

Explore the paintings (published with permission) and full manuscript in the February issue of AJPM&R. AJPM&R and the Association of Academic Physiatrists are pleased to celebrate Black History Month and Jacob Lawrence’s important contributions.

https://journals.lww.com/ajpmr/Abstract/2023/02000/Museum_Meanderings_XII__E_Museum_Jacob_Lawrence.10.aspx

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The Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) is an organization of 2,800+ physiatry professionals who are dedicated to improving patient care by advancing the specialty through research and education. Our vision is a thriving global academic community leveraging mentorship, leadership and scholarship to maximize human function. Our mission is to empower academic physiatrists to advance to science of physical medicine and rehabilitation, educate leaders of the future, and champion physiatry to transform healthcare.

The American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AJPM&R) is the official Journal of the AAP and the Canadian Association of PM&R (CAPM&R). AJPM&R has an impact factor (IF) of 3.412 and is ranked 16 out of 68 journals in Rehabilitation. Our blue journal focuses on the practice, research and educational aspects of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Monthly issues keep physiatrists up-to-date on the optimal functional restoration of patients with disabilities, physical treatment of neuromuscular impairments, the development of new rehabilitative technologies, and the use of electrodiagnostic studies. The Journal publishes cutting-edge basic and clinical research, clinical case reports and in-depth topical reviews of interest to rehabilitation professionals.