Belfast nurse Rebecca McKinney in the frame as famous artwork re-imagined for Marie Curie charity exhibition

Paintings by famous artists have been re-imagined by artist Lisa Buchanan, also known as Dangerosa, in an exhibition showcasing palliative care for the charity’s Great Daffodil Appeal.

Included in one of the paintings is Rebecca Jennings, a Marie Curie registered nurse based at the charity’s Belfast hospice.

Rebecca is part of a project that took four classic artworks depicting death, including by Edvard Munch, Nils Dardel and Ary Scheffer, and re-imagined them to include real-life Marie Curie staff to highlight the importance of palliative care.

Rebecca has been incorporated into The Death of Gericault — originally painted by Ary Scheffer — and shown making a patient more comfortable in his final hours.

At just 23 years old Rebecca is one of Marie Curie’s youngest palliative care nurses. She chose the nursing career after caring for her own grandparents who both sadly passed away despite questions from others that she may be too young.

Rebecca said “My work at Marie Curie is so rewarding, I’m working with the patients and their families at such a difficult time, the worst time in their lives in fact. I feel it even more so for the patients who sometimes don’t have families and where you actually become like a family member to them during their last days. That’s a big thing for me personally.

"I’m really thankful that I get the time that’s needed to spend the time with patients as sometimes that’s not always the case when you are nursing palliative care patients on hospital wards. Small things like brushing a patient’s hair or styling it, or helping them brush their teeth can make such a difference to them. Maintaining dignity through the person’s final days of life is very important to me.”

Maria Novell, chief innovation, income and engagement officer at Marie Curie, said: “The fact that one in four people still don’t get the end of life care they need is a shocking statistic. The purpose of the Daffodil Collection is to highlight the invaluable role Marie Curie Nurses and Healthcare Assistants play providing care, comfort and support in people’s final years, months, weeks and days of life, or when bereaved.

“Reimagining these world-renowned artworks for our Great Daffodil Appeal demonstrates what every donation to the appeal helps fund and how it can make a big difference to people’s lives and those close to them. I’d encourage everyone to support this year’s appeal in any way they can either by donating wearing one of our iconic daffodil pins, heading to visit the exhibition or by holding their own fundraising event. We need the dedicated support from people across the UK to continue our vital work and ensure that whatever the illness, wherever you are, we’re with you to the end.”

The paintings will be on display to visitors for one day only in a special new exhibition at a Mayfair Gallery at 56 Conduit Street this Thursday (March 14, open from 10am-6pm). Following the London exhibition the paintings will be auctioned off.

Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal takes place throughout March and encourages people to donate and wear a daffodil to help the charity continue to support people with any illness they’re likely to die from. For information and to donate visit: Mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil