The Hood Museum received 121 Old Master and nineteenth-century European prints, including 29 Rembrandt etchings, in a gift of unprecedented quality and quantity from the widow of late Dartmouth alum Adolph Weil '35, a long time patron of the Hood and preeminent American print collector.
These excellent prints feature etchings, engravings and woodcuts by key figures in the history of European art and represent one of the most significant gifts ever given to the Museum.
"I can describe this as one of the greatest gifts of art ever donated to the College," said Richard Rand, Hood curator of European Art. "It really does transform our collection."
While the Hood has always had a considerable store of European prints, the Weil donation improves the collection by orders of magnitude, he said.
In a news release, College President James Freedman said "This new collection of prints becomes one of the Hood's rarest treasures. It complements and strengthens our European print collection and will be invaluable in the teaching of European art to our students.
The donation features many early impressions and rare imprints of works by the Old Masters. None of the impressions are weak or of poor quality, Rand said.
The Weil collection focuses on Old Master prints, including artists such as Durer, Rembrandt, and Canaletto.
Perhaps the most impressive portion of the recent donation is the collection of 29 Rembrandt prints.
"Rembrandt was the greatest etcher of all time," Rand said. "He was an experimenter and innovator with the etching technique."
The Weil donation encompasses every aspect and theme of Rembrandt's life as an etcher: landscapes, portraits, religious themes from the Old and New Testaments, and philosophical themes from every period of the master's life are represented in the collection.
Among the most famous of the prints received by the Hood is the landscape "The Gold Weigher's Field," a panoramic etching emphasizing the flatness and serenity of the Dutch countryside.
Also included in the Rembrandt prints is a haunting, beautifully preserved first print of "The Three Crosses."
Van Leyden, a print-maker studied and collected by Rembrandt himself, is another significant Dutch artist of the Weil donation.
Prints by Durer are another important constituent of the new collection, including twelve remarkably preserved woodcuts on the theme of the passion of Christ.
The collection includes a complete set Canaletto's "Views of Venice." Canaletto, a Venetian artist in the 1700s, used the architecture and scenery of the city he lived in as subject matter for his prints.
"This is the greatest collection of Canaletto prints in the country," Rand said.
One of the most splendid works of the collection is a print of "The Stag Hunt" by the early 17th century artist Jacques Callot. The sense of depth, activity and direction in this print is remarkable.
The prints will go on display in the beginning of the Fall term of 1998. The exhibition will run until late 1999.
Until then, a small selection of prints will be on display beginning Sept. 16th, when the Hood reopens its doors.
Unfortunately, as the prints are on paper and thus subject to fading, they cannot go on permanent display.
Nonetheless, the works are available right now to students and professors for study. An Art History seminar next Fall on Rembrandt as a print-maker was created around the prints in the Weil collection.
"I've never seen Dartmouth students so engaged and so interested in art," Rand said.
The donation did not come as a complete surprise to the Hood museum staff, as Weil had donated to the College before. The current donation brings his contribution of prints to the Hood up to 250 pieces.
Weil has been collecting for nearly 40 years and has amassed a substantial personal collection. He was a member of the Board of Overseers of the Hood Museum of Art and Hopkins Center for six years.
