Inspired by Dr. Esther Sternberb’s best-selling book "Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being" (Harvard University Press, 2010), the Susan Sebastian Foundation set out with the goal of installing original artwork in every patient room in every Vermont hospital, a project that may be the largest of its kind in any state. The most recent acquisition of paintings by the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington—54 paintings valued at more than $40,000—marked the end of a project that spanned five years from conception to completion.

Over the course of the five years, the Susan Sebastian Foundation has granted Vermont’s 14 hospitals the funds to purchase 400 works and install them in each of their inpatient rooms. Each piece was specially selected for its healing properties and ability to transport the patient to the outdoors. The artwork, featuring landscape scenes, flowers, children, and animals in watercolors, pastel, and acrylics, is worth about $450,000. The completion of the project was celebrated at an event at the Arkell Pavilion on the campus of the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vermont.