A rare watercolour by Thomas Hennell, depicting the schizophrenic episode from which he later recovered, has been sold to the Wellcome Library Collection.

Hennell, who recovered sufficiently from his schizophrenia to write a lucid account of his illness called 'The Witnesses' went on to become a distinguished Official War Artist.

The watercolour purchased by the Wellcome Collection is extremely rare in Hennell's oeuvre, in that it depicts a psychotic episode: a schizophrenic vision of a man dragging a boat through an imaginary tempestuous sea. Most of Hennell's later work is thoroughly grounded in the depiction of actuality: from rural craft to the circumstances of war.

The Wellcome Library collection houses what is possibly the most extensive collection of visual material relating to the history of medicine in the world.

Hennell Story - Click here for more information