[9] From the early 1950s, Russell had observed that the paintings of contemporary artists were far more effective than the existing reproductions in brightening up the corridors and waiting rooms of the hospital.

Board members at that time included Sir Dennis Proctor, Lawrence Gowing, and Eric Newton, who were later joined by Roger de Grey, former President of the Royal Academy and Lord Croft.

[15] The charity celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2019,[16] with events including a collection of 60 weekly articles from notable artists, patients, and carers[17] and a panel discussion on the future of the arts-in-health sector at the Royal College of Physicians, with speakers Edmund de Waal, Errol Francis, Val Huet, Victoria Tischler, and Ed Vaizey.

[13][12] The collection holds approximately 4,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, animations and photographs from artists including Andy Warhol and Antony Gormley.

[21] Artworks on loan from Paintings in Hospitals to health and social care organisations in the United Kingdom are seen by approximately two million patients every year.

[22] In January 2002, The Saatchi Gallery donated 50 artworks to Paintings in Hospitals, including works by artists Simon Callery, Nicholas May, Joanna Price, Stephen Murphy, Carol Rhodes and Robert Wilson.

[26] In 2012, Dame Stephanie Shirley donated the entirety of her art collection, including works by Andy Warhol and Elisabeth Frink, to Prior's Court School and Paintings in Hospitals.

[6] In 2018, the two organisations partnered to produce the touring exhibition and symposium Rooted in the Landscape, designed to explore the relationship between art, wellbeing and the natural environment.

Students from the school's BA Culture, Criticism and Curation course explore the ways in which art might support the mental health of their peers with an annual exhibition at the Menier Gallery and at King's College London.

[42] In 2019, Paintings in Hospitals partnered with the National Gallery to place Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria by the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi on display at Pocklington Group Practice, a GP surgery in East Yorkshire.