JOHN R. STOMBERG, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director
Hood Quarterly, spring 2025
In the classic Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Jimmy Stewart glimpses a world in which he had never been born. In the "real life" of the film, his character had lived for about forty years and done countless good things, but the movie speculated on what the lives of those around him would have been like had he not been around. It was pretty bleak. As the Hood Museum of Art commemorates its fortieth anniversary this year, we will avoid speculating on what life and learning would have looked like on campus and beyond without us—though, of course, it too would be a horrible tale! Instead, we will focus on what we have achieved and how it has contributed to the lives of students, faculty, staff, community members, and visitors to the Upper Valley.
Anniversaries offer an opportunity for reassessment and recommitment, and that is exactly what we at the Hood Museum are doing. We have just completed a self-study report under the guidance of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). As part of this process, we have invited a small number of directors from other AAM museums to read over our report and then join us for a multi-day tour of the museum and meetings with our staff. They will follow up on their visit with an assessment of how we are doing in terms of fulfilling our goals and those of the College. If all goes well, this will lead to the Hood Museum's renewed status as an accredited member of AAM.
For us, as well, this process is the beginning of a fresh planning cycle for the future. Every time we complete a five-year plan, we feel confident that we have carefully thought through everything we should be doing. Within a few years, though, we recognize that we are ready to adjust our direction, slightly but meaningfully.
Meanwhile, we will celebrate the Hood Museum and its many accomplishments. Literally tens of thousands of students have studied almost every topic taught at the College with art in our teaching spaces. Nearly the same number of area schoolchildren from kindergarten through high school have experienced world art and culture through the ages in our galleries. We have built an amazing collection and held important exhibitions. We have presented countless eye-opening lectures and hosted a multitude of events. This record affords us every confidence that the museum has become a vital member of the multiple communities it serves.
We will use the impetus of this anniversary to look toward what we should become in the next forty years. Following these efforts at institutional introspection, we will aim ever higher, seeking to mean more to you, to your family, and to your friends. We are proud of what we have done and been, and we are eager to improve, to extend our reach, and to recommit to all the people whose lives include the Hood Museum of Art.