Whitby's Pannett Art Gallery to display artwork removed from town's hospital

Whitby's Pannett Art Gallery has a free exhibition for people to see the artwork collection previously displayed at Whitby Community Hospital.
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The exhibition is on from today (Tuesday November 30) to Sunday December 5, from 10.30am to 4pm.

Whitby Hospital is undergoing refurbishment, set to complete in spring 2022.

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As part of this, artworks previously displayed across all areas of the hospital have been removed.

Portrait of Captain James Cook, presented by Whitby Civic Society to Whitby Hospital in 1978.Portrait of Captain James Cook, presented by Whitby Civic Society to Whitby Hospital in 1978.
Portrait of Captain James Cook, presented by Whitby Civic Society to Whitby Hospital in 1978.

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust’s Artwork Group is working together with NHS Property Services to provide this opportunity for people to see the artwork and to celebrate and document its significance.

The trust says the smaller refurbished hospital has a modern look and feel, and most of the artwork will not be re-displayed.

The Artwork Group wishes to hear from the community about what should be done with the pictures in the future and is dedicated to ensuring that the history of the artwork is recorded.

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Visitors to the exhibition are being asked to leave a record of their visit with any notes to help identify the donors or artists of the artwork.

An example of pictures donated is the portrait of Captain Cook, painted by JS Watson (Scarborough), presented by Whitby Civic Society in 1978, with the original on display in the National Maritime Museum – does anyone know why this was presented, was it perhaps on the opening of the new 1970s hospital?

Whitby Hospital Artwork Group has a photograph of the presentation but again all the people present have not yet been identified – can you help?

It is hoped to run a weekly Picture of the Week article in the Whitby Gazette to see if the local community can identify the relevance of the hospital pictures.

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