Painting Honors Lana Rahn for Arts Council Work
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Rahn (from right) Patti Bailey and Erin Gray, chair of the UAMS Arts Council, admire the oil painting Rahn was honored with for her work with the Arts Council.
Oct. 16, 2014 | Bright yellows, greens and blues decorate the canvass of a painting donated recently to UAMS Medical Center in honor of Lana Rahn for her leadership in bringing the arts to UAMS to comfort patients, families and employees.
The oil painting of a pastoral scene was presented Sept. 26 at a meeting of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board and will be hung in a patient area of the hospital. Donated by board member Patti Bailey, the gift is in appreciation of all that Rahn, wife of UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., has done since she began the UAMS Arts Council in 2011.
“Lana is smart, organized, well-spoken and a very dedicated volunteer,” Bailey said. “I thought it would be nice to recognize Lana for the impact she has made to UAMS’ healing arts by contributing a painting in her honor that will grace the halls of the hospital now and for years to come. She so deserves to be recognized for her tireless work and for her contributions to UAMS.”
The artwork, an impressionistic painting of bright yellow trees, a creek and two homes set in a green and yellow field below a blue sky, will be placed in the hospital to bring comfort to patients and families.
Rahn has been one of the visionaries for the council since it began in 2011, and has remained dedicated to enhancing UAMS’ healing environment. One of the many contributions she has made is helping to secure a $250,000 grant from a foundation that placed more than 130 pieces of original art on the hospital units where patients and families spend the most time.
“I really feel passionate that anything we can do to make a patient’s stay here at UAMS more comforting and healing is really important,” Rahn said. “Through this council, we have been able to give patients and families just a little hope during a difficult time in their lives. I am honored that I can be a part of this endeavor.”
The painting is by artist and friend of Bailey’s, Adam Freed from Crested Butte, Colorado.
“His work to me is vibrant, fun and has a carefree quality,” Bailey said. “Adam is very humble and was absolutely thrilled that his painting would be hanging at UAMS.”
Bailey has been on the UAMS Foundation Fund Board for three years. She is also on the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute Board of Directors. She has been a volunteer at UAMS since 1998, and has served on the UAMS Winthrop P. Cancer Institute Board of Directors and on the University of Arkansas Foundation Board.
The council was modeled on one the Rahns experienced when he was president of the Medical College of Georgia and wanted to bring this dynamic component to UAMS. The couple are champions of the arts. The chancellor is a pianist and Lana Rahn is a watercolor artist.
The UAMS Arts Council coordinates arts-related activities at UAMS for employees, students and the public to provide a creative outlet for employees and students to share their arts with others.