Paintings by famous artists have been reimagined in an exhibition showcasing the importance of end-of-life care.
Charity Marie Curie has commissioned artist Lisa Buchanan, also known as Dangerosa, to create the series of works, which will be auctioned for its Great Daffodil Appeal.
The Daffodil Collection, which will be free to visit at a gallery in London’s Mayfair, depicts Marie Curie’s famous daffodil emblem alongside members of the charity’s nursing team, providing care and support to the dying and those close to them.
The exhibition, on Thursday March 14, will be attended by Gavin And Stacey star Alison Steadman, whose mother was supported by the UK’s leading end-of-life charity.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the new reimagined masterpieces this week, and what a wonderful way to tell the story of what Marie Curie nurses do,” she said.
“Their work is so important, and we’re still in a position where one in four people don’t get the care they need at the end of their lives.
“Marie Curie supported our family and my dear mum at their Liverpool hospice and I’ll always be grateful for how wonderful they were and how much they helped when she most needed it.
“It’s only right that some of the charity’s nurses and healthcare assistants have been immortalised in these beautiful paintings.”
The collection includes a reimagining of a painting by The Scream artist Edvard Munch, called The Dead Mother And Child.
In the new painting a Marie Curie healthcare assistant is seen caring for a patient in bed while a nurse comforts a child.
There is also a version of Munch’s By The Death Bed, which now depicts a senior nurse providing emotional support to family and friends.
Elsewhere, The Death Of Gericault by Ary Scheffer, which shows the death of French painter Theodore Gericault, has been reimagined as a nurse making a patient comfortable in their dying hours.
Another painting, inspired by Nils Dardel’s The Dying Dandy, shows a senior nurse putting an oxygen mask on a patient.
Artist Buchanan said: “From previous experience I truly understand that the work done by Marie Curie to support those during such a difficult time of their lives is incredible.
“When they asked me to bring that work to light within these paintings I jumped at the chance to get involved.
“Throughout the process I got to know the fantastic nurses who feature in the paintings and learn more about the important work they do on a daily basis, and I can’t wait for people to see their vital work at the exhibition.”
Maria Novell, chief innovation, income and engagement officer at Marie Curie, said: “The purpose of the Daffodil Collection is to highlight the invaluable role Marie Curie nurses and healthcare assistants play providing care, comfort and support in people’s final years, months, weeks and days of life, or when bereaved.
“Reimagining these world-renowned artworks for our Great Daffodil Appeal demonstrates what every donation to the appeal helps fund and how it can make a big difference to people’s lives and those close to them.
“I’d encourage everyone to support this year’s appeal in any way they can, either by donating, wearing one of our iconic daffodil pins, heading to visit the exhibition, or by holding their own fundraising event.”
The Great Daffodil Appeal, held every March, is Marie Curie’s biggest fundraising campaign of the year and people are encouraged to donate and wear a daffodil pin to help the charity.
Before they are auctioned off, the paintings will go on display for one day at 56 Conduit Street on Thursday March 14 from 10am to 6pm.
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