Kim Conaty, the Nancy and Steven Crown Family Chief Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, has been named the eighth director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth, according to announcements by the college. Conaty will begin her tenure on Oct. 27, taking the official title of the Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director of the Hood Museum of Art.
New Leadership Named for the Hood Museum of Art
In her current role at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Conaty serves as chief curator, a position recognized as one of the most influential curatorial roles in the contemporary art world. She specializes in modern and contemporary art with a primary focus on drawings and prints. Her career includes working at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and serving as curator at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., from 2015 to 2017. Her museum career originally began at the Whitney Museum as a curatorial intern and as coordinator for the 2008 Whitney Biennial, before returning to the institution in 2017 as the Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawings and Prints and later advancing to chief curator in 2024. Among her career projects, she co-curated Ruth Asawa Through Line
in 2023 in collaboration with the Menil Collection as the first comprehensive presentation of the sculptor’s drawing practice.
Transition and the Search Process
Conaty succeeds John Stomberg, who completed a 10-year tenure leading the museum (as reported by Vnews). Stomberg retired following a term that was extended to ensure a smooth administrative transition. Barbara Will, vice provost for academic and international affairs, stepped in as interim director on Aug. 3 and will continue in that capacity until Conaty takes over the directorship in October.
Dartmouth organized a 12-member search committee late last year consisting of faculty, staff, and board members to identify a successor. The search was assisted by the firm Isaacson, Miller and was led by Colleen Boggs, associate dean for the arts and humanities. The committee evaluated candidates in a competitive pool before selecting Conaty.
She brings the knowledge and experience needed to lead the Hood Museum in developing its next strategic plan and continuing to shape its identity as a center for original scholarship and rich student and community engagement,
Dartmouth Provost Santiago Schnell said in a release provided to Thedartmouth.
Background and Academic Credentials
Conaty is a graduate of Middlebury College, where she initially began as a pre-med major before taking an art history distribution class that focused on Swedish-American sculptor Claes Oldenburg. She subsequently earned a master’s degree in art history from Williams College in Massachusetts and a doctorate in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. Her academic background also includes studying in Hamburg, Germany, on a Fulbright Fellowship and completing a summer fellowship at the Clark Art Institute.
I am a firm believer that academic museums have the power to create transformative experiences, whether a student is going on to study art history, or simply to have art and culture as part of their lives,
Conaty stated.
Upon beginning her role, Conaty will relocate to the Upper Valley alongside her husband and their two sons, ages 10 and 13.
Museum Background and Campus Context
Opened in 1985, the Hood Museum of Art is located at 6 E. Wheelock St. in downtown Hanover. The facility houses more than 74,000 objects, making it one of the oldest and largest collections belonging to any college or university museum in the country and representing global artistic traditions. Under her predecessor, the museum underwent a $50 million expansion and renovation project that was completed in 2019.
The Hood operates as a central component of Dartmouth’s Arts District, which also encompasses the recently expanded Hopkins Center for the Arts, the Black Family Visual Arts Center, the Literary Arts Bridge, and The Warehouse laboratory for sonic arts. The museum offers free admission and maintains regular operating hours from Wednesday through Saturday.
