The great blue heron painting is valued at about US$90,000 to $100,000 and is open to bids, with the money going to an acute-care unit revamp at Saanich Peninsula Hospital
An original Robert Bateman painting has been donated to the campaign to revamp the acute-care unit at Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
The great blue heron painting is valued at about US$90,000 to $100,000 and is open to bids, said Heather Edward, chief executive of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital & Healthcare Foundation.
She said the foundation’s campaign to support the acute-care unit project has raised $14.6 million in under two years, which means only another $400,000 is needed to reach the $15-million goal.
Edward said the donated painting was a favourite of the donor’s husband and is “unlike anything we have ever received.”
“It’s a one-of-a-kind,” she said. “We are deeply moved by the thoughtfulness and generosity of this donor.”
She said the gift also acknowledges the quality care the husband received when he was a patient at the hospital.
In a video prepared for the foundation, Bateman said the painting is also one of his favourites “because of the sense of power and the sense of motion.”
He said the painting was done in 2016 for the annual exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists.
Edward said the fundraising campaign will help support a much-needed upgrade to the acute-care unit, which has been “the same for 40 years.”
Improvements include having three patients per room rather than four, specialized patient lifts in every room and improved infection-control measures.
The unit will stay open during the renovation, with work being done room-by-room, Edward said.
The painting will be on display at the Peninsula Gallery until Aug. 15 to give the public a chance to see it and place bids. If it hasn’t sold by Aug. 15, it will go up for auction, Edward said.
She said a wine-and-cheese event, along with a special viewing opportunity, is in the works for later this month.
To support the foundation’s fundraising efforts, including a 50/50 draw that could generate a prize of up to $10,000, visitsphf.ca.
The foundation has raised $92.2 million since it was established in 1985.
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