Renowned Louisiana painter Clementine Hunter is counted among the most recognizable and beloved American folk artists of the 20th century. She enjoyed a remarkable career as an artist painting brightly colored scenes that reflected daily life on the Louisiana plantation where she spent most of her 101 years. Noted for her vibrant palette and expressive style, Hunter's paintings reflect her own unique American experience. In her works, she documented the world around her, from figures picking cotton and washing clothes to major life events such as baptisms and funerals.

Doctor in the Hospital is a classic example of Hunter's subjects of the rural south. With a color palette dominated by vibrant blues and subdued browns, she captures a quiet hospital ward. The doctor, who appears at the lower left of the work, has just arrived to tend to his patients, some of whom are receiving visitors. The nurse at the center is administering medicine, and is noticeably larger than the male doctor who has just entered. Hunter commonly painter her female figures taller than men - perhaps as her acknowledgement of the importance of a woman's work. The hospital was a subject she returned to often, and many of those scenes are composed in the same multi-level view as is seen in the present work. The unique, flattened perspective is part of her distinctive style, and a classic mark of the folk art tradition.

Above all, Hunter's works are a highly personal reflection of her time and place. During her teenage years, she moved with her family to Melrose Plantation in Cane River Country in northwest Louisiana. It was there she would remain for the rest of her life, working first as a field hand and later becoming a maid and part-time cook in the house. The plantation owner, Cammie Henry, was a great supporter of the local arts community, and in the 1930s she turned a part of the grounds into a thriving artists' colony. It was there that Hunter's creativity was encouraged and thrived. Though she did not begin painting until her 50s, she soon became recognized as a folk art legend of the art world. Today, her works can be seen in museums around the United States, including the Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.), the American Folk Art Museum (New York), The Oprah Winfrey Collection (Chicago) and countless others.

This work is accompanied by an original Polariod photograph of the artist holding the painting.