Should hospital art be jolly or should it portray the truth about pain?

Landscapes and clown murals are said to improve wellbeing in wards, but this kitsch propaganda may actually drive patients to despair

Science regularly delivers brilliant insights that stretch understanding and reveal new worlds. Then again, it sometimes produces "insights" on the order of "people like eggs because eggs taste good", or "the sun cheers everyone up" banal or tautological statements given a fresh sheen of authority by experimental data.

Some recent research on the kind of art that works best to cheer patients in hospitals is of this less-than-earth-shattering nature. Well-heeled US hospitals that decorate their corridors with cool contemporary art claim a scientific basis for their decor. They cite studies revealing that guess what patients are more likely to be cheered up by landscapes and soothing colours than by terrifying expressionist battle scenes. For example, one study concluded that "images of fearful or angry faces" should be avoided in hospital art. On the basis of such research, one American hospital that says it selects art that is "not disturbing, but uplifting and diverse".

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