FIGURE
Wilma Bulkin Siegel is a retired oncologist and a painter. Her art has won numerous awards, including first place in the American Physicians' Art Association 2002 annual exhibition, in Washington, DC. Earlier this year Siegel's work was featured in "American Art Today: Faces and Figures," a curated exhibition at the Art Museum at Florida International University, Miami. She lives and works in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and in New York City.
Hope Center, a nonprofit organization in Miami, offers comprehensive services to people who are developmentally disabled. Siegel writes: "I first learned of Hope Center when I was asked to donate a work of art to their newly renovated residential facility. I created a mosaic wall mural called The Garden of Hope. The day it was installed, I was shown around the facility, and I was delighted to see the warmth and caring in evidence. I went back many times to paint portraits of several of the residents, including Joe, Rene, and Pedro. Although most had never sat for a portrait before, they sat for me with both dignity and obvious pleasure.
"I realized that art could be healing for my subjects, and it was satisfying for me to be able to offer as a painter what I'd long provided as a physician."