Psychiatric patient 15 - "Emma"
- Date:
- 1949
- Reference:
- PP/RSI/B/1/2/5
- Part of:
- Rita Simon Collection
- Archives and manuscripts
About this work
Description
47 artworks identified by Rita Simon's pseudonym "Emma". The artworks are arranged into four subfolders: "Before therapy" (10 abstract artworks); "Self-portraits" (8 portraits of a face); "In therapy" (28 colourful and abstract artworks); "Folder 4" (1 portrait of a face). The date is taken from the date written on two of the artworks.
An additional artwork is in PP/RSI/B/2/3/4
Publication/Creation
1949
Physical description
47 artworks
Biographical note
A female Jewish refugee who, in 1942, attended a psychiatric day centre where she worked with Rita Simon, who believed the patient suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. According to Rita Simon: "One day she [the patient] came in raging about a meeting about her at which she had not been allowed to express her point of view. I said "dictate what you want to say". She started to have a sense of identity after I presented the text of what she had said to the staff."
This information is taken from conversations between Rita Simon and Wellcome staff between 1995 and 1997.