Gift supports healing environment, honors Lawtons’ family history

Quinn and Dr. William Lawton II
Photo by Jennifer Schultz

Quinn Lawton’s appreciation for art began at birth. For her husband, Dr. William Lawton II, art appreciation came later in life, when he married Quinn. Together, the couple is supporting the cancer center’s artwork via a gift to the project.

Quinn is the daughter of an architect and a gallery director, the granddaughter of interior design and art professors, and the niece of a published bead artist. Although not an artist herself, Quinn is a licensed mental health practitioner who has been raised and trained to recognize the emotional and mental benefits of thoughtful environments and curated artwork.

The Lawtons’ medical backgrounds and their shared interest in art converged through their gift.

“From our perspective, art has the ability to set a tone, infuse emotion and encourage reflection,” Quinn says. “It can connect and resonate with people on levels that otherwise elude words. When considering the cancer center, we need to be cognizant of what we are communicating with people through the spaces we create. Through thoughtful selection, our hope is the art at the cancer center will contribute to creating a healing space that conveys connection, comfort, hope and strength.”

Not only are Quinn’s mother, father and grandmother artists — they were cancer patients. Dr. Lawton, a Lincoln gastroenterologist, also has a family history of colon cancer.

“Filling the space (with art) is a priority, and it sounds like there’s quite a lot of need there,” says Quinn, a Bryan Foundation Board member. “In honor of our family’s history with the arts and their experiences with cancer, we thought that was a really good place to put our support.”

The cancer center’s large windows, light-filled alcoves and welcoming visitor spaces will create a much different healing environment than what the couple’s family members experienced, Quinn says. “Hopefully we don’t have to utilize (the center),” she notes, reflecting on what she hopes is her family’s distant past with cancer care, “but if we do, it will be a huge step up.”

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