Another Wonderland: The Alice Murals of Abram Champanier Opens at the Museum of the City of New York

Another Wonderland: The Alice Murals of Abram Champanier Opens at the Museum of the City of New York

The exhibition marks the first time that the complete mural series will be on display in nearly 50 years

Following years of restoration, 1930s murals in the NYC Health + Hospitals art collection are returned to original vibrancy

Jun 05, 2026

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY), in collaboration with NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, announces Another Wonderland: Abram Champanier's Alice Murals, an exhibition spotlighting the rediscovery and restoration of New York's most whimsical and historically significant public mural series. The exhibit opens tomorrow, June 6 and runs through September 20.

Another Wonderland brings to light a remarkable example of New Deal-era public art, Alice of Wonderland Visiting New York, a mural cycle created by Abram Champanier for the children's ward at Gouverneur Hospital between 1938 and 1940. Commissioned through the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Art Project, Champanier reimagined Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland in 1930s New York City. The result was a sixteen-panel mural-each panel over seven feet tall-blending fantasy and city life to uplift young patients and hospital staff, and adding color, movement, and magic into a space dedicated to healing.

Once it was installed, Alice of Wonderland Visiting New York transported young patients into surreal and joyful scenes of Alice and her friends exploring iconic New York City landmarks-cramming into the subway, flying over the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building, parachuting into Coney Island, and enjoying an animal orchestra at the Central Park Children's Zoo.

Though nearly lost after the hospital's closure, fifteen of the original works were rescued and painstakingly conserved in a decades-long effort. The exhibition marks the first time that the complete mural series is on display in nearly 50 years.

"At the Museum of the City of New York, we are committed to presenting the city's rich and layered history through the lens of its people, institutions, and creative legacy," said Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. "Another Wonderland reintroduces an extraordinary WPA-era mural cycle that captures both the artistic imagination of the 1930s and the evolving role of public institutions during that time. We are especially grateful to NYC Health + Hospitals, whose Arts in Medicine team champions the role of the arts in health and ensures that treasures from its art collection serve health and civic needs, and to the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, whose scholarship, advocacy, and thought partnership were essential in bringing this exhibition to fruition."

The exhibition begins with the remarkable life of Abram Champanier-a Jewish immigrant from Russian Poland who arrived at Ellis Island in 1905 and after high school studied at the Art Students League under notable artists of the time, including Frank Vincent DuMond and Kenneth Hayes Miller, whose students over the years included George Bellows and Reginald Marsh. In 1918, Champanier became a charter member of the Whitney Studio Club (the predecessor of the Whitney Museum of American Art), along with emerging and established artists including Stuart Davis, John Dos Passos, Edward Hopper, Boardman Robinson, and Alexander Calder, as well as art historian and studio manager Juliana Force.

Champanier's career intersected with a pivotal moment in American history: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's massive New Deal initiatives during the Depression included the Federal Art Project, designed to create jobs for artists and build civic spirit. Through the WPA, more than 10,000 artists were employed to bring beauty and inspiration to public spaces across the nation, including schools, libraries, and hospitals. New York City had more WPA hospital murals than any other city, and Champanier was hired for the City's historic Gouverneur Hospital on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Larissa Trinder, Assistant Vice President, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine commented: "Another Wonderland speaks directly to our mission at Arts in Medicine-to integrate creative expression into spaces of healing and care. We're proud to collaborate with the Museum of the City of New York to share this powerful story of resilience, imagination, and the enduring impact of art in our public hospitals."

Following the closure of Gouverneur Hospital, Champanier's murals fell into disrepair-until 1981 when they were rescued by art conservators Alan and Denise Farancz. After decades of conservation work, fifteen of the original sixteen pieces were preserved. Fourteen of the original panels-along with two faithfully reproduced versions by Dawn D'Aluisio and John Lippert, the latter mentored by conservator Alan Farancz-forms the heart of Another Wonderland, presented alongside archival photographs, conservation documentation, and original hospital ephemera.

The conservation of the Alice murals was recognized in the 2025 Annual Awards for Excellence in Design by the New York City Public Design Commission.

Following the exhibition, the mural will be installed at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur, now a community health center and skilled nursing facility on the Lower East Side. In 2025, Gouverneur celebrated 140 years of providing health care in New York City. Gouverneur was the first municipal hospital to establish a tuberculosis clinic and the first hospital to have a female physician and ambulance surgeon, Dr. Emily Barringer.

"Bringing Champanier's Alice murals to light after decades in obscurity has been a profound curatorial journey," said Lilly Tuttle, Curator at the Museum of the City of New York. "These works are not only visually stunning, they're a testament to the belief that art can uplift, inspire, and heal. Through this exhibition, we honor a moment in New York's history when public investment in the arts transformed civic spaces and enriched the lives of everyday New Yorkers - including the city's youngest and most vulnerable patients."

"With Another Wonderland," says Trinder, "we hope visitors feel the same sense of discovery and delight that these murals once gave to young patients decades ago."

The Museum, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine, and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund published an illustrated exhibition catalogue featuring essays, archival imagery, and full-color reproductions of the murals through Marquand Books. To further explore the intersection of public art, New York city history, community wellness, and storytelling, MCNY will host a slate of programs for visitors of all ages.

Another Wonderland is made possible with leading support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. Special thanks to advocate, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Thank you to sponsors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Knapp Family Foundation, M&T Bank, and New York State Council on the Arts. Additional support from The Donald and Barbara Zucker Family Foundation and other generous donors.

"We are proud to partner with the Museum of the City of New York and NYC Health + Hospitals to bring this historic exhibition to the public," said Rick Luftglass, Executive Director of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. "Apart from our role as funders of this exhibition, I became personally fascinated with the WPA murals at NYC Health + Hospitals while we were writing Healing Walls: New York City Community Mural Project and have conducted research on WPA hospital murals and their significance. Across the country, most WPA murals in hospitals have been lost. The rescue of the "Alice" mural cycle at Gouverneur Hospital is an extraordinary story."

"Foreground Conservation has been privileged to contribute to the preservation of many cultural treasures throughout New York City. Among these projects, the conservation of Champanier's Alice mural has been especially rewarding, as it reintroduces to the public a vibrant cast of characters and scenes reflecting the diversity and dynamism of 21st-century New York," said Dawn D'Aluisio and John Lippert, Foreground Conservation. "It is particularly fitting that the mural makes its debut at the Museum of the City of New York, a democratic institution dedicated to the city's history and culture, before its permanent installation at the new Governor's Hospital. There, it will fulfill its intended purpose of fostering a healing and inclusive environment within the NYC Health + Hospitals built environment. Foreground Conservation felt the full weight of responsibility when the Farancz Studio entrusted us, in 2007, with carrying this project forward and bringing it to completion. Seeing it realized today, and with the great teams at the MCNY, Arts in Medicine and Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund., represents the fulfillment of a dream that has endured for decades."

"When Alan heard that the Alice mural panels were about to be destroyed, he decided to go in and save them. He was most definitely not going to let these works of art be demolished," said Denise Whitbeck Farancz, Director of Farancz Painting Conservation Studio inc and one of the art conservationists, along with Alan Farancz, who rescued the Alice mural in 1981. "Alan and I led a dedicated crew of volunteers to detach and rescue the entire room of paintings for four days just before the building was gutted. It was dirty and difficult, but we all were joyful with the concept of saving them. I am so proud to see the mural fully restored and on display for the public."

About Abram August Champanier (1896-1960)
Abram August Champanier, born Abram Shampanier, was an American painter and muralist best known for his prolific work during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) era. Active from the early to mid-20th century, he was recognized for his portraits, landscapes, and a distinctive style he termed "Staccatoism," combining mechanical and geometric forms. Champanier's murals adorned prominent buildings across the country, including New York's Cotton Exchange Building, International Telephone and Telegraph Building, New York Athletic Club, DeWitt Clinton High School, and the 1939 World's Fair. He also completed commissions for hotels, theaters, and private residences from Palm Beach to Philadelphia. His work was widely reviewed in publications including The New York Times and Herald Tribune, and he is listed in Who's Who in American Art and Who Was Who in American Art.

###

Press Contacts
MCNY: [email protected]
NYC Health + Hospitals: [email protected]

#122-26

About the Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world's most influential metropolis. Through exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives, the Museum explores what gives New York City its singular character and global impact. The Museum is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue. Public hours are Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Learn more at mcny.org.

About NYC Health + HospitalsNYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org.

About NYC Health + Hospitals' Arts in Medicine DepartmentThe Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals integrates the literary, visual, and performing arts across the nation's largest public hospital system to support patient care, staff wellbeing, and community health. Grounded in research, the department is recognized as an international leader in the field, positioning the arts as a core component of care, advancing emotional wellbeing, resilience, and recovery for staff and patients alike. Drawing on a collection with more than 8,000 works, Arts in Medicine curates environments that foster trust, belonging, and connection. Through systemwide initiatives and partnerships, the department embeds arts and cultural experiences across clinical and community settings, creating spaces and programs that are culturally resonant and responsive to the communities they serve. Using partnerships and program innovation, Arts in Medicine strengthens care environments across New York City and establishes the arts as an essential part of healing and human connection. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine.

About the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination FundThe Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based foundation dedicated to increasing access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and fostering healthy, vibrant communities. The foundation supports innovative approaches across a wide range of issues, promoting equity, increasing civic engagement, and advancing economic opportunities. In 2018, the Illumination Fund launched Arts in Health, a multi-year initiative supporting organizations that use the arts to address health issues affecting New York communities, with a focus on mental health stigma, trauma, and aging-related diseases. In 2019, the foundation helped establish the Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals, expanding arts programs for patients, staff, and communities across the city, with a commitment to improving overall staff wellbeing, reducing burnout and compassion fatigue. In 2021, the initiative broadened to include the arts in mental health. For more information, visit https://www.lmtif.org.