2021–22 Annual Report: Collections
The collection of the Hood Museum of Art is at the core of our work at the museum to advance learning, care, and connections through the reach and relevance of visual art and material culture. As such, collections work permeates many facets of activity in the galleries, in the Bernstein Center for Object Study (BCOS), and behind the scenes. The addition of four new curators to the Hood Museum staff in 2021, including an associate curator of collections, facilitated new projects with the collection as well as progress on long-standing goals. This year saw an increase of deep collections-based research and care, alongside mainstay activities such as acquisitions and loans. This chapter highlights a few of the collections-based projects from FY22.
Updates to the Collections Management Policy
Lauren Silverson, registrar, and Ashley Offill, associate curator of collections, began 2022 with a close look at the museum's Collections Management Policy (CMP). The CMP is a vital guiding document for everything from art-handling standards to light exposure, conservation policies, and the processes for acquiring and deaccessioning works of art. Initially created in 1998, the CMP was last revised in 2017. The 2022 iteration of the CMP added policies for works of art that were not previously addressed in the document, such as the murals by José Clemente Orozco in Baker Library and the outdoor public art collection; updated the mission statement and various policies to reflect the goals and language of the 2022–26 Strategic Plan and Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) Action Plan; edited wording to remove outdated terms such as "artifact"; added new forms and appendices to reflect current tools and practices at the Hood Museum; and expanded policies for light exposure for specific media. These changes ensure ongoing care for the collection in keeping with best practices.
LEFT A medieval reliquary bust sits on a CT scanner at DHMC. Photo by Ashley Offill.
ABOVE Hood Museum of Art Registrar Lauren Silverson and Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming Elizabeth Rice Mattison lay the reliquary flat on the CT scanner. Photo by Ashley Offill.
Collections collaboration with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
The museum is always searching for ways to collaborate across Dartmouth, and one new acquisition served as the impetus for an exciting object-based exploration with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) and faculty at the Geisel School of Medicine. In May 2022, Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming, Ashley Offill, and Lauren Silverson transported a sculpted reliquary bust to DHMC to run noninvasive scans of it. Using a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner, Dr. P. Jack Hoopes, professor of surgery and radiation oncology, and Dr. David Gladstone, professor of medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine, were able to scan the bust in slices with varying thicknesses (all of which could be measured in centimeters) to produce detailed images of the internal composition of the sculpture. In addition to verifying that the reliquary no longer holds any relics—objects from a saint believed to hold some of the power, or virtus, of that saint—the scans clarified where the relics were originally placed in the head of the reliquary, as well as important information about the composition of the wooden sculpture. The CT scan highlighted the density of different materials that are hidden beneath the polychrome surface of the reliquary, allowing us to identify the multiple blocks of wood pieced together with wooden pegs and metal nails that make up the reliquary bust. This sort of technical analysis can be challenging for museums to coordinate, and we are lucky to have a community at Dartmouth that is invested and interested in collaborations that lead to new discoveries for our collection.
Click here to read more about the collaboration on the Hood Museum's blog Meanwhile at the Museum.
Deaccessioning work
Deaccessioning is perhaps one of the least understood aspects of museum work, yet it can be vital to ensuring a functional collection. In large collections that were formed over centuries, like that at the Hood Museum, there will always be more works in storage than can ever be feasibly on view in the galleries or brought out for teaching and research. Sometimes deaccessioning—the process by which an object is permanently removed from a museum's collection—is the best way to both ensure the care of the collection as a whole and secure better futures for objects within the collection that are unused. In 2021, Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art, Cynthia Gilliland, associate registrar, Lauren Silverson, and Ashley Offill began focused deaccessioning work in the American history collection. A few of the objects deaccessioned from this expansive collection include a winnowing tray, four pins from an unknown covered bridge, a rock driller's spoon, ten forks, and twenty-one ice skates. We were guided in our decisions by careful consideration of key questions: Can the object be considered a work of art? Is it unique or otherwise significant? Is it important to the Hood Museum's educational mission? While the deaccessioned works will no longer be part of the collections at the Hood Museum, we plan to find new homes for them in regional historical museums where they can regularly be on view and their stories can be told.
ABOVE Hood Museum staff members examine the Hunting Scene tapestry, about 1557, in the Bernstein Center for Object Study. Photo by Isadora Italia.
Looking Ahead: Future Collections Projects
As in any museum, only a small portion of the Hood Museum's collection is on view in exhibitions or for teaching at any given moment. Work continues behind the scenes, however, to ensure proper care of the collection and to explore new ways to make it accessible to the public. For example, in 2022 we began examining and, in some instances, rehousing textiles in the collection to check for conservation needs and exhibitability. Many of these textiles, such as Yoruba indigo cloths and a sixteenth-century Flemish tapestry, had not been unpacked for decades but now will be on view at the Hood Museum in upcoming exhibitions.
Another major initiative is ongoing repatriation work in keeping with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and with ethics-based field-wide international efforts. In the coming year, we hope to see the return of all ancestors and many objects to their home communities, including the Benin bronze in the museum's collection. We look forward to continuing this work and will keep our stakeholders and audiences updated as we make progress toward our goals.
Acquisitions
List coming soon.
LEFT The Hood Museum of Art's "Wind Dancing with Spring Flower" (Alma W. Thomas, 1969) on view in "A Creative Life," at the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, July 9–October 3, 2021. Photo Courtesy the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Outgoing loans
The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, May 22–September 6, 2021; Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas, October 23, 2021–January 30, 2022; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, March 12–July 25, 2022; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado, September 2022–February 2023.
2007.51
Joyce Scott
Mammy under Undue Influence
2007
Blown, cast, and lampworked glass, and beadwork (peyote stitch)
Purchased through the Virginia and Preston T. Kelsey 1958 Fund
First venue only:
W.976.204
Jacob Lawrence
Flight II
1967
Opaque watercolor and tempera over graphite on wove paper
Bequest of Jay R. Wolf, Class of 1951
New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, California, August 25, 2021–January 30, 2022.
2020.6
Mai-Thu Perret
Les guérillères III
2016
Papier-mâché, steel, wire, acrylic paint, gouache, synthetic hair, cotton and polyester fabric, and bronze, with glazed ceramic and wool blanket
Purchased through the Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe 2015 Fund
There Is a Woman in Every Color: Black Women in Art, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, September 16, 2021–January 30, 2022.
P.953.100
Ilse Martha Bischoff
Mary
1943
Oil on canvas
Gift of the artist
Alma W. Thomas: A Creative Life, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, July 9–October 3, 2021; The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, October 30, 2021–January 30, 2022; Frist Art Museum, Nashville, Tennessee, February 25–June 5, 2022; The Columbus Museum, Georgia, July 1–September 25, 2022.
2016.5
Alma W. Thomas
Wind Dancing with Spring Flowers
1969
Acrylic on canvas
Purchased through a gift from Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe, Class of 1964H, by exchange
Screenings 8: Lorna Simpson, Humanities Center Gallery, University of San Diego, California, January 27–March 4, 2022.
MIS.2004.50
Lorna Simpson
Corridor
2003
Two-channel video installation, looped, transferred to DVD
Purchased through the Julia Whitaker L. Fund
Radical Stitch, The MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, April 30–September 25, 2022.
2021.43
Summer Peters
Marjorie and Maria Tallchief
2021
Glass seed beads on interfacing
Purchased through the Acquisition and Preservation of Native American Art Fund
Luigi Lucioni: Modern Light, Shelburne Museum, Vermont, June 25–October 16, 2022.
P.950.73
Maxfield Parrish
Hunt Farm (Daybreak)
1948
Oil on Masonite
Gift of the artist, through the Friends of the Library
P.983.34.191
Paul Sample
Cement Plant
1935
Oil on canvas
Gift of the artist, Class of 1920
LEFT Ed Ruscha's "Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas" on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts in the exhibition "Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City," April 2022. Photo by Ashley Offill.
ABOVE The Hood Museum of Art's David Driskell painting "Gate Leg Table" (1966) on view in the exhibition "David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History," Portland Museum of Art, Maine, June 19–September 12, 2021. Photo courtesy the Portland Museum of Art.
Loans Returned
Each/Other: Marie Watt and Cannupa Hanska Luger, Denver Art Museum, Colorado, May 23–August 22, 2021; Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, September 25–December 12, 2021; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, January 1–April 30, 2022.
2021.4
Marie Watt
Companion Species (Is this a pipe?)
2020
Reclaimed wool blankets, embroidery floss, and thread
Purchased through the Miriam H. and S. Sidney Stoneman Acquisition Fund and the Acquisition and Preservation of Native American Art Fund
David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, February 6–May 9, 2021; Portland Museum of Art, Maine, June 19–September 12, 2021; The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, October 16, 2021–January 9, 2022; Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio, February 25–May 15, 2022.
2018.6
David Driskell
Gate Leg Table
1966
Oil and found objects on canvas
Purchased through a gift from Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe, Class of 1964H, by exchange
Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, June 12–September 5, 2021; Speed Museum of Art, University of Louisville, Kentucky, October 7, 2021–January 2, 2022; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, February 19–May 15, 2022.
P.985.31
Ivan Albright
The Vermonter (If Life Were Life, There Would Be No Death)
1966–77
Oil on Masonite
Gift of Josephine Patterson Albright, Class of 1978HW
Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, Detroit Institute of Arts, November 15, 2020–June 5, 2022.
P.976.281
Edward Ruscha
Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas
1963
Oil on canvas
Gift of James Meeker, Class of 1958, in memory of Lee English, Class of 1958, scholar, poet, athlete and friend to all
LEFT A conservator from Williamstown Art Conservation at the Lunder Center at Stone Hill cleans Louis Gill's birch bark canoe in the Northeast Gallery. Photo by Alison Palizzolo.
ABOVE A conservator from Williamstown Art Conservation at the Lunder Center at Stone Hill cleans Thornton Dial's "Heaven and Hell on Earth" (1995) in the Northeast Gallery.
Objects Conserved
12.2.505
Unidentified Ancient Egyptian maker
Osiris
1000 BCE–1 CE
Bronze
Bequest of Emily Howe Hitchcock, Class of 1872HW
12.2.506
Unidentified Ancient Egyptian maker
Isis and Infant Horus
1000 BCE–1 CE
Bronze
Bequest of Emily Howe Hitchcock, Class of 1872HW
162.27.14802
Louis Gill
Birch bark canoe
Early twentieth century
Birch bark and wood
Gift of Sinclair Weeks
P.939.19.1–10 and P.939.19.11.1–9
Walter Beach Humphrey
Murals Illustrating Richard Hovey's Song "Eleazar Wheelock"
1938
Oil on canvas
Commissioned by the Trustees of Dartmouth College
M.967.40
Unknown American
Teapot
Late eighteenth century or possibly late nineteenth century
Silver with a wood handle
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.968.41
Samuel Minott
Porringer
About 1730
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.968.42
Benjamin Burt
Porringer
About 1750–90
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.968.43
Samuel Minott
Porringer
About 1770
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.968.67
Benjamin Burt
Ladle
About 1760–70
Silver
Gift of Mrs. Yves Henry Buhler
M.969.12
David Jesse
Cup
About 1700
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.969.13
John Edwards
Cup
1710–20
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.969.14
William Cowell
Pepper box
About 1730–40
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.969.15
William Jones
Child's mug
1715–30
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.970.69
Paul Revere II
Teaspoon, coffin handle (one of a pair)
About 1800
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.970.70
Paul Revere II
Teaspoon, coffin handle (one of a pair)
About 1800
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.970.73
Paul Revere II
Tablespoon
1780–95
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.970.78
Paul Revere I
Porringer
1731
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.972.78
Zachariah Brigden
Cann
About 1765
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.972.80
Thomas Milner
Porringer
About 1730
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.972.81
William Simpkins
Porringer
About 1740–50
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.978.33
Timothy Keith
Spectacles
About 1815
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
P.976.281
Edward Joseph Ruscha
Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas
1963
Oil on canvas
Gift of James Meeker, Class of 1958, in memory of Lee English, Class of 1958, scholar, poet, athlete and friend to all
S.977.186
George Warren Rickey
Two Lines, Oblique Down, Variation VI
1976
Stainless steel
Gift of the artist and gifts of anonymous donors, by exchange
M.978.36
Possibly Nathaniel Helme
Sauceboat
Late eighteenth century
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.981.81
Henry Cogswell
Ladle
About 1760
Silver
Gift of Mrs. Emerson Morse, Class of 1918W
M.984.14.3
Thomas Coverly
Porringer
About 1750–1800
Silver
Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.984.48.1
Abel Jacobs
Sugar Tongs
About 1820–30
Silver
Gift of W. Gordon Moody, Class of 1935
M.985.21
Samuel Casey
Creampot
About 1760
Silver
Purchase made possible through the generosity of Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.986.33
Knight Leverett
Porringer
About 1745
Silver
Purchase made possible through the generosity of Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
2009.81
Piita Irniq (Peter Irniq)
Inuksuk
2007
Stone
Commissioned by the Trustees of Dartmouth College
2014.67.3
William Swan
Porringer
1760–70
Silver
Gift of Diantha C. and George C. Harrington, Class of 1961
2016.63.7
Conrad Meit
Eve
About 1525
Bronze
Roger Arvid Anderson Collection; acquired through a gift from Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe, Class of 1964H, by exchange
2018.37.150a
Valerie Hegarty
George Washington (On a Stick)
2006
Foamcore, paper, paint, glue, gel medium, and a forked stick
Anonymous gift
2018.37.408
Charlotta Westergren
Coral Spring Mycena
2002
Oil on lamé
Anonymous gift
2021.11.2
Thornton Dial
Heaven and Hell on Earth
1995
Corn husks, corncobs, dried mushrooms, roots, burned wood, clothing, bedding, toys, wire, metal, fabric, Christmas tree ornament, rope, carpet, paintbrush, other found materials, oil, enamel, spray paint, and industrial sealing compound on canvas on wood
Purchased through the Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe 2015 Fund
2021.11.3
Thornton Dial
Soul Train
2004
Clothing, tin, rope carpet, bicycle horn, enamel paint, and Splash Zone compound on canvas mounted on wood
Purchased through the Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe 2015 Fund
2021.11.4
Thornton Dial
The Tiger Cat
1987
Metal, paint, and Splash Zone compound
Purchased through the Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe 2015 Fund
2021.24
Gonzales Coques
Portrait of a Young African Diplomat
About 1675
Oil on copper
Purchased through the Barbara Dau '78 Fund for European Art
2021.30
Albrecht Dürer
Landscape with a Large Cannon
1518
Etching on laid paper
Purchased through the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W'18 Fund, the Class of 1935 Memorial Fund, and the James and Barbara Block Acquisitions Endowment