Dumbarton Oaks

Dumbarton Oaks was created by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, collectors and patrons of art and scholarship in the humanities. It supports research and learning internationally in Byzantine, Garden and Landscape, and Pre-Columbian studies through fellowships and internships, meetings, and exhibitions, and welcomes researchers who come to study its books, objects, images, and documents. It opens its doors to the public to visit its historic garden, designed by Beatrix Farrand; its museum, with world-class collections of art; and its Music Room, for lectures and concerts. The institute disseminates knowledge through its publications and online resources. The property was transferred to Harvard in 1940.

Dumbarton Oaks was created by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, collectors and patrons of art and scholarship in the humanities. Robert Bliss was a diplomat in the US Foreign Service, and the Blisses traveled and lived in South America and Europe. After a long search for a permanent home in Washington, they purchased the 1801 Federal-style house and property in June of 1920. After buying the property, the Blisses altered it significantly. Mildred Barnes Bliss worked closely with renowned landscape designer Beatrix Farrand to transform the land surrounding the house into terraced gardens and vistas. The Blisses renovated and expanded the original structure, adding the Music Room in 1929, and the wing to house the Byzantine Collection in 1940. As early as 1932, the Blisses had begun planning to convey the institution to Harvard, Robert's alma mater; the property was transferred in 1940. The Blisses remained very active, continuing to shape the institution, the collections, and the garden, until their deaths in the 1960s. The Pre-Columbian Gallery, designed by architect Philip Johnson to house Mr. Bliss's collection of Pre-Columbian art, which had been on long-term loan to the National Gallery of Art, opened to the public in 1963. The Garden Library was added in the same year, to house and display Mrs. Bliss's collection of rare and modern books related to all aspects of the history of gardens.

1. 1Dumbarton Oaksdoaks.org
2. 2History — Dumbarton Oaksdoaks.org
3. 3About — Dumbarton Oaksdoaks.org
4. 4People & Contacts — Dumbarton Oaksdoaks.org