Visibly Human Health and Disease in the Human Body
Psychiatric Patients at Forest Glen
Water-based paint on canvas
United States, 1944
Accession #1994.0038
During World War II, the Forest Glen annex of Walter Reed General Hospital was used for treating patients with psychiatric conditions. Located near Washington, D.C., the former girls’ school had been purchased by the Army to provide additional space for the hospital’s activities. The picture accurately depicts the eclectic architecture while showing maroon-suited patients enjoying the grounds.
McMillen had painted government-sponsored murals during the Depression as part of the Works Projects Administration (WPA). When the war began, many of the WPA’s responsibilities were transferred to the military, leading to the commissioning of this painting.
The painting hung at Forest Glen until 1994 when it was transferred to the National Museum of Health and Medicine. It was restored at the request of the Textbook of Military Medicine Project, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army, for use as the frontispiece of Military Psychiatry: Preparing in Peace for War .
- Visibly Human Health and Disease in the Human Body
- The Cardiovascular System
- The Urinary System
- Respiratory System
- The Lymphatic System
- The Musculoskeletal System
- The Liver and Hepatic System
- The Digestive System
- The Brain and Nervous System
- Psychiatric Patients at Forest Glen
- Skeleton of Spanish American War Veteran Showing Evidence of Severe Arthritis