Art for Psych's Sake

ART FOR PSYCH'S SAKE ROGER K. FERGUSON* The current bandwagon for buying paintings and other objets d'art as investments brought to mind my first plunge into the market. Twenty years ago, as a third-year medical student, I was assigned to a 10-week rotation on a closed-door psychiatric ward. I looked forward to the rotation because I had always been interested in psychology and had contemplated becoming a psychiatrist. The ward housed approximately 30 patients with schizophrenia who were being treated with large doses of psychotropic drugs and group therapy. I vividly remember my first day on the service. After ringing the bell, a trustee opened the door and I was confronted by a long hallway full of patients pacing up and down who looked distraught when the door was locked again. After I had met all the staff and received a brief orientation , a group of patients volunteered to tour the facilities with me. Besides the glass-enclosed nursing station, there were recreation and group therapy rooms, offices and examining rooms, and the patients' rooms. All was fairly standard until we reached the small lounge where the patients could receive visitors on the weekends. In it, there were two sofas, a coffee table, and a bookcase. Two pictures hung on the walls. A spokesman for the group directed my attention to one ofthe pictures, an oil painting. "What do you think of that?" he asked, pointedly. I glanced at the picture briefly and said, more appreciatively than I meant, "Not bad! Who did it?" "Robie here," he said, motioning toward the group, who promptly parted to allow me a view of the artist. He was a large man with red face, hair, and hands. "He paints all the time," added the spokesman proudly. "Nice work," I pronounced and added, "I like it." "What do you think it's worth?" queried the spokesman. "Gee, I wouldn't know. The artist would really have to say about that." ?Department of Medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada 89520.©1985 by The University of Chicago. AU rights reserved. 0031-5982/85/2804-0450$01.00 608 I Roger K. Ferguson ¦ Artfor Psych's Sake "Robie says it's worth at least $65." "I bet there would be people willing tö pay that," I agreed. "Would you buy it?" asked thé artist, speaking for the first time. "Well, I would, but I don't think that would be allowed." "Why not?" said several voices. "I'm sure that staffare not permitted to buy anything from patients," I replied categorically. With that I beat a hasty retreat into the nursing station, where I commented, "It seems there's an artist among us," motioning outside the plate glass. "Oh, you mean Robie. Yes, he took it up as part of his therapy," said a nurse. During the next week, I soon adapted to the routihe. My main tasks were to interview and examine all new patients and to perform ongoing evaluations of all current patients, especially after changes in their drug regimens. Except for one patient, whom I thought to be psychotic because of the inhalation of metal fumes at the smelter where he worked, most indeed seemed to have schizophrenia of one type or another (not that I could usually tell types apart). Drugs alone or in combination were given per protocol in increasing doses until side effects or stupor supervened . Off the ward, I attended teaching conferences and occasionally evaluated patients for the psychiatric liaison service in other parts of the hospital. Coming and going on thé ward each day, I usually encountered Robie, to whom I generally offered friendly encouragement about his painting. One morning, several weeks later, I received a message that the hospital administrator wanted to see me in his office. Since no reason was given, I began to imagine all sorts of things I might have done wrong, but I couldn't recall any recent faux pas. Nonetheless, by the time I was introduced and was invited to sit down, I was rather anxious. "I think I have some good news for you!" the administrator announced. "Oh?" I hesitated, still mystified. "Yes. After...