Art Saves Lives June 14, 2026

Art heals. Art Saves Lives. The Museum of the City of NY brings us an exhibition spotlighting the rescue and restoration of one of NY’s most whimsical and historically significant public art murals. FDR’s New Deal created the WPA and we are much better off for it. This 16 panel mural was created by Abram Champanier and is called Another Wonderland for the children’s ward at Gouverneur Hospital between 1938 and 1940. The idea that art could be therapeutic was just coming into the public psyche. Nearly lost after the hospital’s closure 15 of the original panels have been lovingly restored and displayed for the first time in 50 years. The mural is a reminder of what federal funding for the arts could do for cities like New York and how public art could inject light and energy into unexpected spaces. After the show closes on Sept. 20, the Alice Mural will be relocated long-term to NYC Health and Hospitals/Gouverneurs at 227 Madison Street on the Lower East Side, several blocks from the original Gouverneur Hospital. (That building, with two striking U-shaped wings is visible from the FDR Drive, is now called Governor’s Court and provides low-income housing for people with mental health struggles – pictured in today’s montage). What a treat this exhibit was for us. Avoid rabbit holes and catch it if you can before it closes on Sept. 20th.