Hood Museum of Art

The Hood Museum of Art is a teaching museum owned and operated by Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. With roots dating to 1772, when the first reference to an art collection at Dartmouth appeared, it holds one of the oldest and largest collections of any college or university museum in the United States. The museum officially opened in its current building in fall 1985 and today cares for approximately 65,000 objects spanning six continents. Its mission is to enable transformative encounters with works of artistic and cultural significance to advance critical thinking and enrich people's lives. The museum is free and open to all.

The origins of the Hood Museum of Art trace back to 1772, the first documented reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth College. For over two centuries, this collection grew and evolved before the institution that would house it was formally established. The Hood Museum of Art officially opened to the public in the fall of 1985, providing a dedicated home for the college's extensive holdings. In March 2016, the museum closed for a major expansion and renovation designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. After nearly three years of construction, it reopened on January 26, 2019, with expanded gallery and office spaces, a new atrium, and the Bernstein Center for Object Study. This center includes three smart object-study rooms, an object-staging room, and curatorial and security offices, accessible to Dartmouth faculty and students through an entrance parallel to the gallery doors.

The Hood Museum's collection encompasses approximately 65,000 objects representing diverse artistic traditions from six continents. The holdings broadly include Native American, European and American, Asian, Indigenous Australian, African, and Melanesian art. As a teaching museum, the Hood supports the Dartmouth curriculum across many disciplines and majors while encouraging co-curricular engagement through programs such as Museum Collecting 101 and the undergraduate-driven Museum Club. The museum hosts both collection-driven and loan-based traveling exhibitions, reflecting its dual commitment to scholarship and public access.

Among the museum's most significant holdings are six Assyrian stone reliefs from the palace of Ashurnasirpal II dating to about 900 BCE. The museum also holds the complete archive of photojournalist James Nachtwey. A landmark work associated with the institution is the fresco cycle The Epic of American Civilization (1932-34) by Mexican artist José Clemente Orozco, located in nearby Dartmouth's Baker-Berry Library, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2013. The European painting collection includes works by or attributed to Perugino and his workshop, Luca Giordano, Claude Lorrain, Nicolas René Jollain, Pompeo Batoni, Marie-Louise-Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, and Jan Davidszoon de Heem. European modern and contemporary artists represented include Alfred Sisley, Édouard Vuillard, and Picasso. American painters in the collection include Joseph Blackburn, Rockwell Kent, John French Sloan, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

The original Hood Museum building was designed by architects Charles Willard Moore and Chad Floyd. This structure served the museum from its 1985 opening until the 2016-2019 renovation. The expansion and renovation by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects added a welcoming new atrium and significantly increased the museum's physical capacity for galleries, offices, and study facilities. The museum is situated on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, New Hampshire, in relation to the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

The Hood Museum of Art is located in Hanover, New Hampshire, on the campus of Dartmouth College. The museum is free and open to all visitors. Its facilities include a shop and a café. Beneath the museum is the Arthur M. Loew Auditorium, which screens numerous films. The museum's website is http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu.