On Oct. 25, visitors to St. Andrews once again came face to face with Doctors George and Phillip Gregory, founding family of the original Boothbay Harbor Hospital, as their portraits were returned to the Urgent Care’s lobby after months of cleaning and restoration sponsored by St. Andrews Auxiliary.

“The Auxiliary Board approved this project out of respect for preservation of our roots in supporting healthcare,” explained recent president Laura Zajdel, who initiated the project. After becoming president of the Auxiliary in 2019, she became aware of older residents’ fond memories of the hospital as well as their concerns about the condition of the paintings.

Both of the 30” x 36” oils on canvas were painted by Dean Keller of Connecticut whose career included teaching and lecturing at New York Academy of Art, Yale Center for British Art, the Wadsworth Athenaeum, and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

Dr. George Gregory’s portrait was completed in 1960 and commemorates his founding of the hospital in 1908. Dr. Phillip Gregory’s was completed in 1966 and recognizes him as the founder of the Auxiliary in 1952.

After the Auxiliary board approved $2,273 and a family member made a separate donation, earlier this summer the portraits were removed from the lobby and taken to Nina Roth-Wells in Georgetown to begin their “makeover.”

Wells, who has been a painting conservator since 2000, holds degrees in art history from Bowdoin College and in art conservation from Queens University in Ontario.

Her clients include Portland, Bowdoin and Colby art museums as well as private individuals. She is the sister-in-law of Jeff Wells, who writes the popular column about birds appearing in the Boothbay Register.

“The paintings were a little dirty with a tiny loss to one and a wrinkle in one corner, but not in bad shape,” she said. She cleaned both and suggested a piece of glass over each to preserve them. “They should be fine for quite a while,” she added, saying the glass will help protect their surfaces.

Dr. George Gregory first founded the facility as a sanatorium and he changed its name to St. Andrews in 1913. After his death in 1946, his son Phillip Gregory assumed responsibilities at the hospital, serving until 1975.

Gloria Wakefield, incoming president of the 135-member Auxiliary, told the Register, “LincolnHealth worked with us and painted the walls where the portraits were. They’re a wonderful restoration and they’re back home where they should be.”

The portraits were returned to their places of honor in the lobby of the former hospital on Oct. 25.