Sarah Crane
Long Strand by Boyd and Evans

In the next instalment of our Twenty for Twenty series, we ask Milton Keynes University Hospital’s Head of Chaplaincy Sarah Crane to select an artwork.

Which work in The Collection have you chosen to talk about?

Boyd and Evans oil painting Long Strand (1996).

When and how did you first see it?

I wish I could remember! In August 2014 I came to visit the hospital before I applied for a job here. I remember walking to meet Daphne Preece, the Lead Chaplain, and being amazed by the amount of artwork as I walked along the corridors. This coupled with how light the space was made an instant impression on me and I felt strongly that working in this environment would be a life-giving thing. 

What first interested or attracted you to this artwork?

I struggled to pick just one piece, as there are many I like for different reasons. I settled on this because I love its vastness and rich colours.

Do you remember how seeing this work made you feel?

It makes me feel I could get lost in the landscape and I love the way that it draws the eye into the background and beyond the two characters in the foreground. It makes me want to jump into the picture and be walking in the hills you can see in the distance.

In general, what kind of impact do you think seeing art at MKUH has on your experience of being on the hospital site?

In my role I visit other hospitals, and every time I do I pay attention to the way the spaces are arranged, the artwork and the light. Whatever impresses me, and they don’t always, I come home to MKUH grateful for the way the artwork and its arrangement uplifts my spirit and makes me feel connected to this community and the space it inhabits.

I have also got three prints at home which I have bought over the years having enjoyed seeing them on the walls at MKUH – we are running out of space so my husband has banned me from buying more prints without first working out where they might go...!



Contributor: Sarah Crane

Sarah Crane is the Head of Chaplaincy at Milton Keynes University Hospital where her team also provides care to Willen Hospice and the Campbell centre.