Hood Museum of Art

Description:

• Often overlooked by visitors to Hanover (it's not visible from the street), this modern, open building right beside the Hopkins Center houses one of the oldest college museums in the nation and holds some 65,000 items. Its current incarnation -- an austere, modern three-story structure -- was built in 1986. The permanent collection includes a superb selection of 19th-century American landscapes; significant holdings of African-American and Native American art and artifacts; and six stone reliefs dating from 900 B.C. Assyria. Special exhibits are frequent and high-quality; in 2005, the Hood hosted a show by the artist Fred Wilson, who arranged hidden items from the museum's collection in thought-provoking, sometimes disturbing ways.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010