Artwork of UAMS Professor, Cancer Survivor On Display Through Dec. 31

Oct. 27, 2004 |

LITTLE ROCK – Drawings and paintings by leukemia survivor Thomas Sullivan, J.D., LL.M., an adjunct professor of law and psychiatry in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), will be on display Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 in the second-floor gallery of the UAMS Library.

 

The Arts of UAMS exhibit “Chemovision: Images Drawn While Surviving Leukemia” is free and open to the public. For library hours, call (501) 686-5980.

 

Sullivan is also a professor in the School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). Prior to joining the faculties at UALR and UAMS, he served as a public defender in New Mexico and directed the appellate clinic at SMU School of Law. He has represented clients in both civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

 

In April 2003, he was diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic leukemia. His treatment included anti-cancer drugs and doses of chemotherapy that made his hands swell to the point he feared he would not be able to draw or paint. The swelling subsided and he returned to the printmaking studio at UALR, where he has studied for 10 years. Subsequent tests showed his leukemia was in remission.

 

Most of the drawings and one of the lithographs in the exhibit were drawn on the sixth floor of the Harry P. Ward Tower at UAMS.

 

“Neither the cancer nor chemotherapy seem to have had profound effects on my subject matter and perception,” Sullivan said. “For me, being able to continue to draw was itself a point of value in reclaiming my health. It may be that all I can ask of art is that it simply remains a part of my life.”

 

Proceeds from the sale of these works will be donated to the UAMS Arkansas Cancer Research Center for services for patients unable to pay. If interested in making a purchase, contact Sullivan at jtsullivan@ualr.edu and note the number of the artwork selected.

 

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,170 students and 650 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of about $3.8 billion a year.

 

UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute.