Sequences proper: Physical illness patient 5 - "Bob"

7 artworks identified by Rita Simon's pseudonym "Bob." Some of the descriptions of the artworks are taken from notes written by Wellcome staff during conversations with Rita Simon between 1995 and 1997.

The date given to the artworks has been estimated according to the dates known for similar series of artworks in Rita Simon's collection.

The artworks begin with landscapes, often featuring something symbolic or imagined within them. The final two works are of heads.

1970-1980

7 artworks

"Bob" was a man aged about 40 with a very severe heart condition which affected his life in a major way. He had two children and had previously been very active and played a lot of football. He found it frustrating because, as part of his treatment, he had to lie flat on his back. Rita Simon described his behaviour as obsessive and overactive; he was referred to the Social Services Health Centre they never made explicit whether his problem was physical or psychiatric. Rita Simon said, "Referrals were evasive to put it mildly." He took some of his pictures away with him as he was very pleased with them. She thought he was not really psychiatric; she felt he was quite articulate but that his heart condition gave him sexual problems. She described how his paintings started obsessively neat, then he "broke through."

This information is taken from conversations between Rita Simon and Wellcome staff between 1995 and 1997.