sea view hospital

Beautiful terra cotta murals adorn the exterior of these shamefully neglected wards at Sea View Hospital. Produced in Delft, Holland by the Joost Thooft & Labouchere Company, the murals are considered very fine examples of such ceramic work. While these pieces were manufactured in Holland, their design took place in the U.S. by architect Raymond F. Almirall, whose other credits include the Prospect Branch (Park Slope) of the Brooklyn Public Library. Today, the Preservation League of Staten Island is working save these buildings at Seaview and thus the terra cotta work.

These bulbous, simplified figures bear resemblance to the work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Who knows if either architect or artist was aware of the other's work. One of Munch's most famous and ambitious undertakings, while seven years in the making, was finished after the construction of these buildings. Munch's large Frieze of Life at Oslo University, completed in 1916, consists of numerous murals depicting 'mankinds joys and sorrows.' Equal poles of emotions were no doubt felt at this hospital, but here, doctors and nurses are pictured minding their everyday tasks- mixing medicines, examining specimens and tending to patients.