Wall Art

Art Inspired by Beloved Children's Books

"Medicine for the soul." This description of books and their power to heal inspired a broad collection of art throughout the Bloomberg Children’s Center. Created by artists from across the country, the sculptures, collages, dioramas, photographs, and paintings celebrate books like Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon and E.B. White's Stuart Little. Artists selected children’s books that were meaningful to them as inspiration for a whimsical variety of original artworks to amuse and entertain children and their families.

Artwork showing a blue checkered chair with a goldfish in the bowl on the chair arm.
Artwork showing rabbits hopping and carrying flowers in their mouths.
Artwork show a book with the character Stuart Little popping up from the pages.
Artwork showing flowers furniture circling the center of the peice.
  • Title: Blue Checked Chair, 2011. Inspired by The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss, 1957
    Artist: Rolla Herman, Montclair, NJ.
    Location: Bloomberg Children’s Center, Cardiology waiting room, 2nd Floor.
    Photo Credit: Rolla Herman

  • Title: The Cottontails, 2011. Inspired by The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Du Bose Heyward, 1939
    Artist: Casey Ruble, Brooklyn, NY
    Location: Bloomberg Children’s Center, Family Lounge, 9th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Casey Ruble

  • Title: From Stuart Little Series, 2011. Inspired by Stuart Little, by E.B. White, 1945
    Artist: Thomas Allen, Coloma, MI.
    Location: Bloomberg Children’s Center, PICU Family Lounge, 4th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Kris Graves

  • Title: Hiding from the Moon, 2011. Inspired by Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, 1947
    Artist: Eva Wylie, Philadelphia, PA
    Location: Bloomberg Children’s Center, seating alcove, north, 9th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Eva Wylie

Art Inspired by Nature and the Garden

More than fifty artists have use nature as an inspiration for original artworks on permanent display in the Sheikh Zayed Tower. From landscape images to detailed depictions of flower petals and rocks, nature-inspired art helps bring tranquility and softens the clinical setting for patients and families.

Photo of the artwork showing glazed porcelain shaped into buildings and plants.
A color print in blue hues depicting trees.
Photo showing artwork of braided sea grass in a woven pattern
Showing on wood block print of flower patterns.
  • Title: Detail from Toile Garden, glazed porcelain, wood and paint, 2011
    Artist: Susan Graham, New York, NY.
    Location: Sheikh Zayed Tower, elevator lobby, 4th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Kris Graves

  • Title: Untitled (blue trees), chromogenic color print, 2011
    Artist: Alexander Heilner, Baltimore, MD
    Location: Sheikh Zayed Tower, elevator lobby, 12th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Alexander Heilner

  • Title: Gyre, braided seagrass, 2011
    Artist: Julianne Ahn, Philadelphia, PA.
    Location: Sheikh Zayed Tower, elevator lobby, 5th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Kris Graves

  • Title: One woodblock print from Color Field Notes, series of eight woodblock prints and one silkscreen, 2009
    ArtistPolly Apfelbaum, New York, NY
    Location: Sheikh Zayed Tower, elevator lobby, Main Level.
    Photo Credit: Polly Apfelbaum

Artistic Wayfinding: Color Themes and Art for Elevator Lobbies

Art and color themes help patients and visitors find their way. The color blue was chosen for the Bloomberg Children’s Center and the color green for the Sheikh Zayed Tower. The moment you step off an elevator, the palette of colors will tell you where you are.

Each elevator lobby also features original artwork. In the Bloomberg Children’s Center, art inspired by children’s books delights our youngest patients and provides their families with memorable ‘landmarks.’ In the Zayed Tower, art inspired by nature and the garden is located outside each elevator bank and displayed throughout waiting rooms, corridors, and staff work stations, bringing an element of peace to the busy hospital setting.

Photo showing the artwork displayed near the elevators of the hospital.
Artwork displaying a white garden with multicolored foliage.
Painting of green foliage and leave patterns.
an art display of a grid of nine works
  • Title: Polar Pink, 2011. Inspired by The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman, 1995.
    Artist: Walter Martin & Paloma Munoz, Pennsylvania.
    Location: Bloomberg Children’s Center, elevator lobby, Ground Level. 
    Photo Credit: John Dean

  • Title: Zigzag Garden, 2011. Inspired by Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie, 1911.
    Artist: Amy Chan Richmond, VA
    Location: Bloomberg Children's Center,  elevator lobby, 12th Floor
    Photo Credit: Amy Chan

  • Title: Weeds #4, Acrylic paint on plexiglass, 2008
    Artist: Kim Beck, Pittsburgh, PA
    Location: Sheikh Zayed Tower, elevator lobby, 3rd Floor
    Photo Credit: Kim Beck

  • Title: Color Field Notes, eight woodblock prints and one silkscreen, 2009
    Artist: Polly Apfelbaum, New York, NY
    Location: Sheikh Zayed Tower, elevator lobby, Main Level.
    Photo Credit: John Dean

Fun with the Alphabet

Baltimore artist Lauren P. Adams worked with children staying at The Johns Hopkins Hospital to create an artful upper-case alphabet to be displayed in the Bloomberg Children’s Center. Adams taught the children a technique called papel picado, for creating paper cut-outs, which were transformed into colorful silkscreens by Baltimore Print Studios. Additional alphabet-themed artworks include Scott Teplin's Alphabet for Alphaville, a playful set of letters featuring intricate and fanciful scenes, and Jeffrey Mitchell's ABCDEFGHI<3U.  

The alphabet theme continues outside the Bloomberg Children’s Center, where the 26 colors that artist Spencer Finch used on the hospital’s giant curtain wall are displayed in alphabetical order by color name.

Artwork showing an A shaped house with different rooms.
Photo showing the artwork displayed in a hallway, listing letters designed and colored.
  • Title: Alphabet for Alphaville, 2008
    Artist: Scott Teplin, Milwaukee, WI
    Locations: Bloomberg Children’s Center, near Radiology waiting room, 4th Floor.
    Photo Credit: Scott Teplin

  • Title: Papel Picado, 2011
    Artist:  Lauren P. Adams, Baltimore, MD.
    Locations:  Bloomberg Children’s Center, near Shaffer Auditorium, Main Level.
    Photo Credit: Clayton Allis