The Moon in the Earth II

Dorothy Hood’s The Moon in the Earth II is a commanding circa 1975 abstraction, unfolding in deep blue, black, and rose-toned passages. Expansive and atmospheric, the work reflects Hood’s mature exploration of scale, color, and the charged space between earthly landscape and cosmic imagination.

1975
Oil on canvas
Signed upper right, “D. Hood”
Signed and titled on the stretcher, “D. Hood — The Moon in the Earth II”

70" H × 60" W
(177.8 cm H × 152.4 cm W)

Framed: 70.75" H × 60.75" W
(179.7 cm H × 154.3 cm W)

About the Maker:

Dorothy Hood (1918–2000) was an American painter born in Bryan, Texas, and raised in Houston. She studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Students League in New York before moving to Mexico in 1941, where she remained for two decades and became part of a major artistic and intellectual circle. The Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University describes Hood as “a pioneering figure in Mexican and American Modernist painting,” noting that Pablo Neruda introduced her to José Clemente Orozco, who became her mentor and gave her her first studio. After returning to Houston, Hood became an important figure in the Texas art world while developing the large-scale abstractions for which she is now best known. Public Art of the University of Houston notes that her canvases and works on paper often referenced physical and mental landscapes, as well as “the connections between inner and outer worlds.” Her work is held in major collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Menil Collection.