Marian MacDowell was an American pianist and philanthropist. In 1907, she and her husband Edward MacDowell founded the MacDowell Colony for artists in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Her leadership of the artist retreat through two world wars, the Great Depression and other challenges created one of the foremost cultural institutions in the United States, which cultivated the work of generations of musicians, writers, poets, sculptors, and visual artists.

MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell Colony or "The Colony", but its board of directors shortened the name to remove "terminology with oppressive overtones".