Faculty

The Hood is noted among college museums for the degree to which its collections and exhibitions are integrated into the curriculum by Dartmouth faculty.

Contact the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Curator of Academic Programming

An Extraordinary Teaching Collection

The Hood Museum of Art's collection represents a vital curricular resource. Comprised of nearly 65,000 objects, its major works include:

  • large reliefs from ancient Assyria;
  • ancient Greek and Roman coins;
  • European and American painting;
  • Native American contemporary and historic collections
  • African and Oceanic art and artifacts;
  • modern and contemporary art, including a significant collection of Indigenous Australian paintings; and
  • over twenty thousand drawings, prints, watercolors, and photographs.

For more information, see our overview of collection highlights. You can also search the collection for individual works of art in the Hood's online database.

The Hood's public events include many lectures, gallery talks, symposia, and receptions over the course of the year.

Teaching with Original Works of Art

The Hood Museum of Art is noted among college museums for the degree to which its collections and exhibitions are integrated into the curriculum by Dartmouth faculty. These include courses from over 30 departments and programs across the Dartmouth curriculum from English to Engineering. Museum staff members pull approximately 2,500 objects annually from storage for these class visits. This direct engagement with objects takes place in the galleries and the Bernstein Center for Object Study.

If you are a Dartmouth faculty member who would like to use the study center, please fill out the attached form here and an academic programming staff member will be in touch. We ask that you contact us at least three weeks before the anticipated date of your class session.

Departments and programs that regularly hold classes at the museum include:

  • African and African-American Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Art History
  • Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
  • Biology
  • Classical Studies
  • Comparative Literature
  • English
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Studies
  • Film and Television Studies
  • French and Italian
  • Geography
  • German
  • Government
  • History
  • Jewish Studies
  • Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies
  • Mathematics
  • Native American Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Religion
  • Sociology
  • Spanish and Portuguese
  • Studio Art
  • Theater
  • Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
  • Writing
  • Geisel School of Medicine

Fellowships

The Hood Museum of Art offers one-and two-week residencies for Dartmouth faculty. During these residencies, the faculty members study and research the collections for the purpose of teaching in the museum. Over thirty-five residencies have been awarded to Dartmouth faculty, and the museum has seen a marked increase in the use of its collections in the curriculum.

The museum residency program is funded through an endowment jointly created by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Dartmouth College alumni and parents.

Academic Programming Staff

Amelia Kahl, Barbara C. & Harvey P. Hood 1918 Curator of Academic Programming, acts as one of the liaisons between Dartmouth faculty and the Hood Museum of Art. She facilitates use of the museum as a teaching resource and promotes the study of art and artifacts in the museum's collection.

In consultation with faculty, she develops educational programs around specific exhibitions and collections areas. She also manages the Bernstein Center for Object Study, where objects not on view in the galleries are available for classes. She also organizes teaching exhibitions with faculty.

Elizabeth (Beth) Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, serves as the primary liaison to Dartmouth faculty and facilitates the integration of the museum's collection with the College's curriculum. As an experienced art historian, she's committed to engaging diverse audiences with objects to elicit critical thinking and foster transformative encounters with art.

Randall Kuhlman, the Bernstein Center for Object Study Attendant and Scheduling Assistant, works in Academic Programming at the Hood Museum of Art. He helps to schedule and coordinate all visits to the museum and assists students and faculty with their use of the museum's collections. With a background in history and archaeology, Randall helps plan and coordinate visits with those specific themes and can help answer any questions regarding the Hood Museum's collections in those topics.