106 in 2006: Watercolors by Dr. W. Baxter Perkinson, Jr.
Spring Miniature by Dr. W. Baxter Perkinson, Jr., adopted by Catherine B. Strauss and Jerome F. Strauss, III, M.D., Ph.D.
When the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing cut the ribbon during Reunion Weekend in April, it had far more than the latest in technology to show off to friends and alumni. On Thursday April 26th, VCU alumnus and former Board of Visitors rector W. Baxter Perkinson Jr., D.D.S., unveiled one of the most unique gifts in the school’s history with the opening of “106 in 2006: Watercolors by Baxter Perkinson”. Dr. Perkinson created and donated a collection of original work for the VCU School of Nursing in order to underscore the importance and pervasive presence of art in the practice of nursing. The gift fills practically every hallway, conference room or shared space with large scale watercolors.
“I knew the nursing school needed this collection because there wasn’t the budget for art. Nancy Langston was always telling me that art fuels caring and healing and that’s why she considers nursing an art,” Perkinson said. Dr. Perkinson, approached the dean about making such a gift, and she happily accepted. The collection, “106 in 2006” is donated to the School of Nursing in honor of Dr. Perkinson’s mother, Stella, who was once a student at the MCV School of Nursing. A more recent connection to the School comes through his daughter, Elizabeth, a nurse practitioner and member of Nursing’s Class of 2000.
Dr. Perkinson’s art brings an aesthetic consideration to the state-of-the-science educational building, reminding students that their intuition, creativity and caring are as key as the technical principles they apply in their work. Covering a range of subjects, the watercolors range from stark black and white snowscapes, to lush, full gardens and flowers bursting with color, to quiet and solitary family farms and farm animals, to abstractions and collages.
“The building is really a visual representation of the art and science of nursing,” Langston said. “The openness allows us to reflect on the beauty of our world, while at the same time, we’re confronted with the complexity and challenges of the vast amount of knowledge and sophisticated technologies of the 21st century that transform the way we work as scientists and the way we study and learn the science and art of nursing.”
Dr. Perkinson’s gift has helped to pave the way for some of the school’s other fundraising needs — namely a garden planned for the building’s courtyard. This is being accomplished through the school’s adopt-a-painting program and sales of the collection’s companion book ($25) and DVD ($10). For information on adopting a painting or purchasing a book or DVD, please contact Kelly Gotschalk at (804) 828-2993, or by e-mail at kjgotschalk@vcu.edu.