What Became of Dr. Smith envisions the life of artist Noah Saterstrom’s great-grandfather, a traveling optometrist who, according to family lore, disappeared in 1924. Through a years-long search in state, local, and private archives, Saterstrom discovered that his great-grandfather spent the final four decades of his life at the Mississippi State Insane Hospital (also known as the “Old Asylum”) in Jackson, and later at the Mississippi State Hospital in nearby Whitfield. Presented as an immersive narrative painting of 183 canvases that together span 122 feet, What Became of Dr. Smith is the visual culmination of the story that emerged one century after it was erased from his family’s record. The exhibition includes historical artifacts from the life of Dr. Smith, as well as Saterstrom’s archival findings and information about the Asylum Hill Project (AHP), a research consortium dedicated to uncovering the history of the Old Asylum and memorializing the approximately 7,000 individuals whose remains were recently discovered there. What Became of Dr. Smith expands on Saterstrom and AHP’s shared goal of acknowledging those marginalized by society due to mental illness.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue of text and images. This exhibition was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Visit Jackson and LocaliQ.
Noah Saterstrom
Noah Saterstrom was raised in Mississippi and educated at Scotland’s Glasgow School of Art. His paintings and drawings are in public
and private collections worldwide. They have recently been exhibited at Carol Robinson Gallery in New Orleans, Louisiana; Fischer Galleries in Ridgeland, Mississippi; and Julia Martin Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee, among other venues in North Carolina, New York, Washington, and Arizona. Saterstrom has held residencies at HRH Prince Charles’s Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland; Morris and Spottiswood in Glasgow, Scotland; the Virginia Center for Creative Arts in Amherst, Virginia; and Exploded View Microcinema in Tucson, Arizona. Saterstrom’s work has been covered in the Wall Street Journal and he was formerly a regular contributor to Nashville Arts Magazine. His painting Maeve is the cover of Ann Patchett’s book The Dutch House (Harper Collins, 2019). Another work, Road to Shubuta, was included in MMA’s 2018 exhibition Picturing Mississippi and later acquired by the Museum. Throughout the pandemic Saterstrom participated in the Artist Support Pledge on Instagram, generating funds for fellow artists and developing a global following of collectors and fans. He lives in Nashville with his wife and three kids.
About the University of Mississippi Medical Center
As the state’s only academic medical center, UMMC seeks to improve the health of Mississippi’s population and eliminate health disparities through education, research, and patient care.
UMMC encompasses six health science schools of medicine, nursing, health related professions, dentistry, graduate studies, and population health. The Medical Center includes the state’s only Level I trauma center, only children’s hospital, only organ and bone marrow transplant program, and the only Telehealth Center of Excellence, one of two in the nation.
For more information, visit www.umc.edu.
About the Asylum Hill Project
The formation of the AHP was a response to a 2012 discovery on the UMMC campus. A construction worker encountered multiple unexpected burials in the last remaining undeveloped area of campus.
The Asylum Hill Research Consortium (AHRC), a group of scholars and advisors helped craft a long-term solution to the cemetery challenge: assembling an archaeological crew to carefully excavate the area. In late 2022, exhumations of individuals began and will likely continue for at least another six years.
The AHRC also collaborates on important historical research about a largely unexamined subject related to mental health care in the state.
MMA’s New Audio Guide
Explore the exhibition via audio with Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.
Don’t forget to bring your headphones!
