An inside look at The Healing Touch
Posted: January 28, 2011
Painter Patricia DeLoss McWilliams was commissioned to create this painting for ATSU, which is meant to inspire and reaffirm the importance to all health professionals of the sacred relationship shared with patients and their families.
To purchase a signed giclée print and assist ATSU students and their families experiencing a health crisis, contact 660.626.2359 or museum@atsu.edu. Prints are $50.
In a 40-minute presentation held during Founder’s Day celebrations, Patricia DeLoss McWilliams took a small group of art enthusiasts through the genesis and completion of her painting, “The Healing Touch.”
Wearing her trademark white-coat-turned-art-smock emblazoned with the words “Kick me if I’m pretentious,” DeLoss talked about her meetings with ATSU administration regarding the commissioning of the painting, the many elements and symbolism contained therein, and the techniques she employed to complete it.
The painting, the original of which hangs in the main building on the Arizona campus, now is displayed in two 4’x6’ giclée prints in Heritage Hall and the Casner Alumni Lounge in the Couts Learning Center in Missouri.
After researching Dr. Still and reading his autobiography, DeLoss set the scene for the painting from Dr. Still’s post-Civil War treatment of British tenant farmers working in Missouri and Kansas, many of whom were so poor Dr. Still would leave money for them after his visit. Guided by the universal truth of compassion, the painting is a historically accurate representation of one such family, complete with a traditional quilt and the typical family pet of such farmers – the British herding dog.
The painting also represents a new look for Dr. Still – one less serious and which depicts his younger days as a physician. Painted in a classical style using the classic compositional ratio of 1:1:618, “The Healing Touch” employs rich symbolism to depict the themes of compassion and touch. The dramatic morning light represents the dawning of a new form of medicine. The dominant red, white, and blue color scheme denotes the profession as a uniquely American form of healing. And Dr. Still’s half-hidden doctor’s bag shows his preference for natural healing.
“A painting is a series of decisions,” DeLoss says. Great care and thought was considered in painting the child, whom she chose not to depict as “too ill,” as well as Dr. Still and the position of his hands on the boy’s face, the doctor’s expression, and the pant legs tucked into his boots.
Throughout the painting is the element of touch and hands – from the children in the doorway, to the husband’s hand on his wife’s shoulder, and to the healing touch of animals, which also symbolize fidelity.
DeLoss spent about eight months making a complete drawing of the painting before she began to paint, which took about one year. She also used models, mannequins, and other objects to achieve the perfect scene. Objects included husband and SOMA Dean Dr. Tom McWilliams’ boots, her son’s hands and blanket, a broom made in Columbia, Mo., and the doctor’s bag, which belonged to Dr. McWilliams’ grandfather, who personally knew Dr. Still.
To view the unveiling ceremony, check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE5a78oh4mI