“The collection is exciting as a pedagogical tool because it allows the historian-teacher to chart the history of twentieth-century American culture through the fantasies of and ideals created out of Hollywood films and their stars.”
Prof. Mary Desjardins “

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In the News: Mary Desjardins

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    (Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: the John Kobal Foundation Collection: Purchased through the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W' 18 Fund. Object photo by Jeffrey Nintzel; all images courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art)

Film & Media Studies Professor, Mary Flanagan, was quoted in the Hyperallergic.com publication Over 6,000 Photographs of Old Hollywood Acquired by the Hood Museum  by Cassie Packard on June 10, 2021

John Kobal collected images that span the history of Hollywood, including film production stills, portraits, and publicity shots.

Mary Desjardins, Professor of Media and Film Studies at Dartmouth, plans to use the archive in her teaching. In a statement, she explained: "The collection is exciting as a pedagogical tool because it allows the historian-teacher to chart the history of twentieth-century American culture through the fantasies of and ideals created out of Hollywood films and their stars."

A selection of photographs from the acquisition will be on view at the Hood Museum in winter and spring 2022. It's not the first time that the museum has displayed work from Kobal's Hollywood photography archives; the Hood first staged a show on the topic in 2010.