Art Matters: ‘Fantine’ collage in Ryan Veterinary Hospital

By: Erica Moser, Penn Today Date: Feb 5, 2025

a painting of a dog is hanging on the wall — EMMA FRAYSSIGNES (1995) “FANTINE” 2020 PHOTO COLLAGE DONATED BY THE RICHARD LICHTER CHARITY FOR DOGS LOCATION: LOBBY OF RYAN VETERINARY HOSPITAL, 3900 SPRUCE ST.

The description of the photo collage in the lobby of Ryan Veterinary Hospital, “These unknown dogs are invisible, unnoticed unless you come close and look” bears two meanings. One is the literal experience of viewing “Fantine”: It appears at a distance to be an impressionistic rendering of a golden retriever, but up close one can see the faces of other individual dogs, nearly 500 of them. Then there is the symbolic meaning, that these once-invisible shelter dogs were noticed by the dedicated hospital staff.

The piece is a gift from Richard Lichter, whose charity enables shelter dogs with complicated medical needs that exceed the treatment capacity of shelters to receive the care they need at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine through the Penn Vet Shelter Medicine Program. These are dogs who otherwise would have been euthanized, says Lichter, who is also a member of Penn Vet’s board of advisors.

“It’s all over the map,” he says of their conditions. “A lot of them had broken bones, through a car accident or some other sort of accident. There’s been hip dysplasia. There’s been cruelty cases, sadly, and a lot of parvovirus cases.”

About Penn Vet

Ranked among the top ten veterinary schools worldwide, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) is a global leader in veterinary education, research, and clinical care. Founded in 1884, Penn Vet is the first veterinary school developed in association with a medical school. The school is a proud member of the One Health initiative, linking human, animal, and environmental health.

Penn Vet serves a diverse population of animals at its two campuses, which include extensive diagnostic and research laboratories. Ryan Hospital in Philadelphia provides care for dogs, cats, and other domestic/companion animals, handling more than 34,600 patient visits a year. New Bolton Center, Penn Vet’s large-animal hospital on nearly 700 acres in rural Kennett Square, PA, cares for horses and livestock/farm animals. The hospital handles more than 6,200 patient visits a year, while our Field Services have gone out on more than 5,500 farm service calls, treating some 18,700 patients at local farms. In addition, New Bolton Center’s campus includes a swine center, working dairy, and poultry unit that provide valuable research for the agriculture industry.