In 1979, New Hampshire passed RSA 19A, to give everyone who enters a state building the chance to discover quality art. Funding comes from 1/2 of 1% of the money raised for the bid contract price to constructs or renovate certain state buildings.

The NH State Council on the Arts manages the process.

At New Hampshire Hospital, we have several unique pieces.

Glass Sculpture by James Carpenter (1987) is a fountain in the hospital lobby. Because of the noise generated by the running water, this sculpture has not been used as a fountain for many years, but it is a very recognizable piece of art in our lobby.

Wilderscape, designed by William Will (2001) was produced by an artist team at the Art Studio at Riverbend Community Health.

Dragon Draft, a sculpture by Jonathan Clowes, was created as a study piece for another dragon that is currently owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Our dragon is 12 feet long with a wingspan of 16 feet. It is carved from laminated ash with a spine of piano wire that holds the segments together. The wings are of aircraft Dacron coated with translucent lacquer.

Memory Lane (1998) is a ten-piece installation by Gordon Carlisle located on the second floor of the building. Each painting is a different scene of life and recreation in the 1930s, 40s and 50s in New Hampshire.

In the Patricia Cutting Conference room on the second floor we have a 4 piece permanent installation of patient art work. The pieces range from charcoal and pencil to acrylic to chalk and oil and were donated to the hospital by the artists.

In our lobby we feature a selection of patient artwork. Pieces rotate several times per year and current inpatients give permission for their work to be on display anonymously.

This Annalee doll is one of a kind and was created by Annalee about 1960. She depicts a NHH School of Nursing Student during that period.

The Hospital was fortunate to have a personal connection with Annalee in that her sister-in-law, Sarah Thorndike, was a member of the Occupational Therapy staff. Sarah gave many years of dedicated and creative service to the patients of the hospital. This doll was restored and donated to New Hampshire Hospital by Annalee Dolls in memory of Sarah.

We also feature patient artwork, poetry and original writings in our hospital newsletter, The Pulse. Like with the lobby display, current inpatients give permission for their work to be published anonymously.