Artwork of the Month: Birds in a Tree by Hugo Colville
10 February 2026
This month, the artwork was chosen by young people who are part of the Wandsworth London Borough of Culture internship programme. Earlier this month, the Arts St George's team welcomed the Interns to St George's Hospital and taught them about St George's Hospital Charity and the work of the Arts Team. They were led in an interactive workshop with Josh, one of our Resident Artists, and chose Artwork of the Month with Rachel, our Art Collection Officer.
About this artwork:
In this artwork we see a group of people curiously interacting with a flock of birds. The birds perch in the tree, some stand on the ground, and one looks like it is being held up by one of the people - or is it flying down to them? This is a pencil and pastel artwork, you can see the texture of the pencil in the bare branches and trunk of the tree.
The Interns saw community and calm in this artwork. They talked about the contentment of the figures in the painting who are 'just existing together'. One of the group said the artwork seemed ‘sleepy, soft and peaceful’. While some felt a sense of melancholy from the artwork, others saw playfulness, and a childlike curiosity and wonder in the way the figures interact with the birds and with each other. They agreed that the artwork evoked a lot of feeling.
About the Artist:
Hugo Colville is an artist with Italian and English heritage who is based in Pembrokeshire in Wales, where he lives with his wife Annette de Mestre, a fellow artist. He has a varied artistic practice, working in sculpture, painting, and landscape design. He is also an author. Colville trained as an actor in Paris and London before leading a travelling theatre in France. He says of his artistic process 'when I work, I do not know what I am going to do at all. The idea arises from the working itself'.
This artwork can be seen in St James Wing.
Arts St George’s (part of St George’s Hospital Charity) is the arts programme for St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. To find out more, follow us on socials @artsstgeorges, or follow Arts St George's - St George's Hospital Charity
The 'Our Hospital: conserving, curating and responding to St George’s Art and Heritage Collection’ is a three-year project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and made possible by money raised by National Lottery players. The project is focusing on conserving, cataloguing, reinterpreting and digitising St George’s Hospital’s unique Art and Heritage Collection so it can be enjoyed by many more people.
Running from 15 September to 13 March, the London Borough of Culture Internship Programme gives young people aged 18 to 25 the opportunity to gain paid hands-on experience in the creative industries. Learn more about the scheme.
