Lois Dodd: A Radiant Simplicity
The Art Gallery at Brooklyn College
2502 Campus Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11210
February 3 – March 25, 2026
Opening Reception February 10, 2026, 5:30 pm
This exhibition and its accompanying catalogue have been made possible through the generous support of the Walter Cerf Estate and the Donald E. '40 & Edith S. Peiser Exhibition Series Fund.
Lois Dodd is a major painter and was an inspiring professor who taught at Brooklyn College from 1971-1992. Her last one-person show in New York City in a non-commercial space was fifteen years ago. This one is long overdue. Dodd formed strong lifelong bonds with many of her students, seeing them and painting together in Maine where she summered. They have come forward en masse to celebrate her achievement. We honor her magnificent art and contribution to our community.
The success of this exhibition was fostered by many individuals. I thank Dodd’s son Eli King for his help in securing the array of wonderful paintings. I am deeply appreciative of Dodd’s gallerist Phil Alexandre for his enthusiastic partnership in this project, and for his hands-on work in realizing our shared vision. I am grateful to the Farnsworth Museum for allowing me to reprint my essay originally published on the occasion of Lois Dodd: 25 Years, Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME, May 19 - July 7, 1996. I am indebted to Gerrit Schreurs for making his beautiful documentary on Dodd available to us.
At Brooklyn College I acknowledge our curator Seung Hee Kim, our managing director Malka Simon, and our staff of interns and work-study students for their assistance. I thank as well the college’s production staff for their design expertise, especially Kevin Fagan, Catherine Freeland, and Victor Sanabria. Thanks also to Dodd’s many former students and colleagues who have stepped forward to speak about her influence. I am grateful to the administration for their support of our new gallery: President Michelle Anderson, Provost April Bedford and Dean of Visual Media and Performing Arts, Paula Massood.
Above all, I thank Lois Dodd for her wisdom, generosity, and mentorship of an extended cadre of Brooklyn College students, and for her unstinting support of this exhibition. In her decades of marvelous painting, she is a model of independence, honesty, and strength.
Mona Hadler
Professor of Art History
Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center
Art Department Chair, Brooklyn College
Rhino, Rear View, 1960, oil on canvas board, 12 x 9 inches
Broken Window Study, 1975, oil on Masonite, 18 x 10 inches
Two Trees + Blair Pond + Fence Rail, 1975, oil on Masonite, 18 x 11 inches
Barns – Autumn, 1978, oil on Masonite, 15 x 16 1/2 inches
Winter Window, 1978, oil on linen, 50 x 28 inches
View Near Belvedere, 1979, oil on linen, 30 x 24 inches
Laundry, Belvedere, 1980, oil on Masonite, 17 x 18 inches
Fall Clouds + Pond Edge, 1981, oil on Masonite, 15 x 15 inches
In the Cove - January, 1981, oil on Masonite, 18 x 19 inches
Sunset, 1981, oil on Masonite, 11 3/4 x 12 1/4 inches
Tunnel Near Rt. 80, 1981, oil on Masonite, 20 x 22 inches
Tunnel, Polkville, 1981, oil on Masonite, 15 7/8 x 20 1/2 inches
Moon Set at Water Gap, 1982, oil on Masonite, 12 x 20 inches
Self-Portrait in Broken Mirror, 1982, oil on Masonite, 15 x 16 inches
Tree Silhouette, 1983, oil on Masonite, 10 x 12 inches
Firefly, 1984, oil on Masonite, 13 x 12 inches
View Across the Delaware, 1984, oil on Masonite, 12 1/8 x 11 7/8 inches
Anne Arnold, 1985, oil on Masonite, 14 x 12 inches
Barn next to Sullivan's Place, Hainesburg, 1986, oil on Masonite, 14 x 21 inches
Beginning Construction, 1986, oil on Masonite, 13 x 19 inches
Collapsing Shed, 1986, oil on Masonite, 13 x 20 inches
Portrait of Eli Reading, 1987, oil on linen, 60 x 36 inches
Fire Barn, 1989, oil on Masonite, 9 3/4 x 14 inches
Lifted House, Hanover, NH, 1990, oil on linen, 50 x 30 inches
Doorway at Blaisey's Farm (nr. Van Campen's Glen), 1991, oil on Masonite, 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches
Bridge at Slateford, PA, 1993, oil on Masonite, 16 x 19 inches
Winter Bridge, 1993, oil on Masonite, 15 x 15 1/2 inches
Church Steeple + Derrick, 1998, oil on Masonite, 10 x 7 1/2 inches
Red Maple, Blairstown, 1998, oil on Masonite, 14 x 12 inches
Millbrook Rd. + Trees, 2004, oil on Masonite, 15 1/2 x 13 7/8 inches
Amaryllis 17, 2006, oil on Masonite, 17 x 13 inches
Neighbor's House, 2012, oil on Masonite, 15 x 17 inches
Still Life with Red Bowl, 2012, oil on Masonite, 19 3/4 x 12 inches
Mirror on Small Table, 2013, oil on Masonite, 19 x 9 inches
Converging Roofs with Attic Windows + Trees, 2025, oil on Masonite, 17 1/2 x 20 inches
White Amaryllis and Window, 2025, oil on Masonite, 20 x 20 inches
