Our impact
Paintings in Hospitals works to transform the UK’s health by using art to inspire wellbeing. Our artworks and creative workshops make a difference to the lives of millions of people every year. Here’s a snapshot of our work…
-
315 partnerships with care organisations
We work with patients and carers in 315 care organisations, including hospitals, care homes, hospices, mental health centres, GP surgeries and SEN schools, to bring the benefits of art into their daily lives.
-
2,173 artworks on public display
Over 60% of our art collection is out on display in public care spaces, providing inspiration for patients and care staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. An estimated 2 million people see our exhibitions in hospitals each year.
-
Sector advocacy and knowledge sharing
-
- We are a Strategic Alliance Member of the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance, aiming to develop and promote the role of arts and culture in supporting the country’s health and wellbeing.
- We work with Nesta the innovation agency for social good monitoring our impact and using the findings to develop our work so that more people may benefit.
-
-
Expanding our reach across the UK
-
-
- Our Art Meets Book project in Public Libraries engaged a diverse range of participants in the West Midlands and London. At the start of the project, 45% of participants felt confident about discussing art and 36% did not. At the end of the project, 85% felt confident to do so. There was high level of satisfaction with the project: 82% found the sessions ‘worthwhile and valuable’ and 85% would recommend them to friends and family.
- Our OASIS (Art for the socially isolated scheme) project worked with those at the end-of-life stage and who attended a Sue Ryder day hospice. participants were invited to rate the statement ‘the sessions improved my feelings/mood at the time’. This was highly rated by all participants and reflected a positive experience of the sessions. Participants were facing some existential issues potentially affecting them emotionally, engagement in the process gave them some space to take their minds off this, and although this was temporary, it provided a welcome relief. One participant said ‘Doing something different, gave me a chance to concentrate and try something new. Time flew by and conversation flowed easily whilst we were working.
-
Find out more about our impact in cases studies of our recent work…
paintings in hospitals
Welcome to Paintings in Hospitals. We provide art for a range of health and community care providers to enhance environments and boost wellbeing. We represent a range of national artists and have an online shop so that you can also experience the power of art and its effect on people.

PAINTINGS IN HOSPITALS TO BE INCORPORATED INTO LEADING NHS CHARITY
Paintings in Hospitals (PiH), which has been lending original pieces of visual art to health and care providers for over 65 years, is transferring its renowned art collection and merging with CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
PiH was founded by Sheridan Russell in 1959. His job was to help distribute aid and support to patients being treated in hospitals. He noticed that when he put original pieces of art on the wall, it helped everyone to feel better. His founding vision for PiH was that all patients in hospitals, their families, visitors and staff, could benefit from experiencing original pieces of art. Now with nationwide reach, the PiH collection has grown to over 3,000 artworks by more than 1,000 artists. Many are very well known, including Bridget Riley, Antony Gormley, Maggi Hambling, Yinka Shonibare, Helen Chadwick, Elizabeth Blackadder, Josef Albers, Anni Albers, Gillian Ayres, Ben Rivers, Alexander Calder, Elisabeth Frink and Ian Davenport. The charity’s artist patrons include Ian Davenport, Sir Antony Gormley OBE, Maggi Hambling CBE, Anita Klein and Bridget Riley CH CBE.
For over 30 years, CW+ has worked alongside Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to create a new type of hospital setting in which art is an integral element of the healing environment. The charity benefits from an established network of patrons, artists and healthcare providers, and has a pioneering Arts in Health programme that builds on the robust body of evidence that outstanding design and engagement with the arts can improve physical and mental wellbeing. The charity’s renowned collection of more than 2,000 artworks is primarily displayed at its two main sites – Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital.
The Chair of PiH, Professor Jane Anderson, said: ‘The visionary work PiH started 65 years ago as an outlier is now mainstream. Creative health – the idea that we pioneered – evidences the physical and mental health benefits of exposure to beautiful and inspiring art. Our founder’s innovative approach has since been solidly confirmed by evidence-based science, and the beneficial impact of creative health is now accepted by hospital administrators, funders and legislators.
'And so, to fulfil our mission to bring great art to patients, families and those caring for them, we are transferring our collection to CW+, a leading charity embedded within the NHS, with a long history in the creative health field.
'We share values and a passionate commitment to promoting and furthering the profound benefits of original art in health and care settings. With our combined sector experience of almost 100 years, we welcome this new era for the Paintings in Hospitals collection and are confident that CW+ will add significant value to the Paintings in Hospitals legacy.’
Current loans will remain where they are and CW+ will announce plans for the future of the Paintings in Hospitals collection in 2026.
Chris Chaney, Chief Executive of CW+, said: ‘We are excited to be merging with Paintings in Hospitals, whose work over the last six decades has had such a profound impact on countless people across the UK. We know from over 30 years of experience that visual art can play a hugely positive role on wellbeing and recovery, and we are committed to the long-standing shared vision of the two organisations that art be made available to as many people as possible in healthcare settings.’
For any questions regarding the collection or loans, please email arts@cwplus.org.uk.
29 July 2025
About our collection
Our art collection is the only national arts in health collection. Over 1,000 artists are represented, including Bridget Riley, Antony Gormley, Maggi Hambling, Yinka Shonibare, Gillian Ayres, Ian Davenport and many more and many more.
Paintings in Hospitals makes it easy for health and community care services to benefit from our art.