Subject Area

Art History/Criticism/Conservation

Abstract

The notable career of American artist Dorothy Hood (1918-2000) spanned nearly six decades which she witnessed, and contributed to, the transformative shifts in art history from the 1940s through the late 1990s. Today, Hood is known as a cult figure in her native Houston, celebrated for her large-scale abstract paintings that are said to evoke the expansive Texas skies. While these paintings create a large portion of Hood’s oeuvre, they represent only a fraction of her prolific artworks. Equally significant are her meticulously detailed and surreal drawings, which form a substantial, often overlooked portion of her legacy.

Hood’s drawings embody an enduring legacy of Surrealism, yet they are distinctly her own. Despite the significance of her work, there has been limited scholarship devoted to Hood’s career, and her drawings have received even less critical engagement. This thesis seeks to address the gap in literature by reintroducing the importance of Hood’s drawings through key themes in her work. By examining forty years of selected drawings, this thesis aims to highlight Hood’s practice through a legacy of Surrealism, while analyzing the pivotal historical and personal moments that shaped Hood’s drawings.

Degree Date

Spring 5-17-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Art History

Advisor

Anna Lovatt

Second Advisor

Randall Griffin

Third Advisor

Tashima Thomas

Number of Pages

131

Format

.pdf

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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