John Bellany and the Scottish Women Hospitals

Scottish artist John Bellany was inspired by the story of the Scottish Women's Hospitals (SWH) to create a large series of paintings and drawings. Some of these have recently been on display in the Scottish Parliament.

The driving force of SWH was Dr Elsie Inglis, one of the very first women to become a doctor in the 1880's. When she offered her services to the War Office she was dismissed with the words 'My good lady, go home and sit still'. Other countries were not so reticent and the SWH units went to France, and my particular interest, Kragujevac in Serbia. While this story is less well known in Scotland, anniversary events are held in Serbia every year.

You can purchase a book of the exhibition in the Scottish Parliament shop and the Scots Makar, Liz Lockheed, has written a special poem for the occasion.

Here are a few photos from the exhibition.