…g’s dedication on September 18, Stanford’s President John Hennessy praised the Anderson’s gift of 121 works by 86 artists as a “gift for the generations” and also noted with great pride that the Anderson would play a key role in the remarkable and ongoing “Stanford Arts Initiative.” If you think Stanford is just a tech-incubator with a football stadium, think again: the opening of the Anderson makes the S…

…g jewel in the crown of the burgeoning campus arts district.  From private to public The museum houses 121 works of art by 86 artists, a gift to the university from the Andersons (affectionately known as Hunk and Moo) and their daughter, Mary Patricia Anderson Pence. The history of their collecting is by now the stuff of legend: After a trip to Europe in the 1960s, Hunk and Moo decided to educate themselves about art in order to build a collectio…

…everything from art films, lectures, poetry readings and book previews. Preparing Stanford students for careers in the arts has always been a priority of the Anderson Collection and, in the past, many art history doctoral students were interns at the Collection’s headquarters on Sand Hill Road. Now, current Stanford students from a variety of disciplines have the opportunity to enter a two -year training program in order to become guides a…

…she listened and learned from curators and art historians, and spent a great deal of time examining the artwork in museums, galleries and artists’ studios in person. She opened her home so that students could have that same experience of looking and learning about art. We are so deeply grateful that Moo and Hunk trusted Stanford to be stewards of their remarkable collection and enable people of all ages to experience it on a daily basis.” ‘In or…

…on in Geneva, and Hunk introduced me as Murma Ransford, which is what my parents called me. And a guy at the end of the bar said, ‘Moo Moo? What a funny name.’ So we shortened it to Moo.” During his senior year in college, Hunk and two close friends (who would become his lifelong business partners) sold Hobart College on the idea of providing its meals for students not living in fraternity houses, a service that was costing the…

…’s one of the artists who’s benefited from Palo Alto’s city-sponsored, affordable studio space. (Photo: Courtesy of Michal Gavish) “Artists and arts groups can be considered here an endangered species,” says Rhyena Halpern, who oversees the city’s public investment in the arts as assistant director of Palo Alto’s Community Services Department. “Because the cost of living is so high, and the cost of doing business is so high.” But the very same e…

…te it in perpetuity, so that it could be used, shared and seen, reflected his philosophy that art can and should inspire all of us. All of us at Stanford will always have the deepest affection for Hunk as a generous, big-hearted man.” To date, the Anderson Collection at Stanford University has been seen by nearly 250,000 visitors. Every work in the museum is viewable online and the collection has grown through gifts from other members of the comm…

…“We worked with Richard for 21/2 years on this building,” says Moo, 86. Will she miss having the art in her home? “I think in order to enjoy art, you have to share it,” she says. Olcott was inspired by the accessibility and openness of the Andersons’ ranch house to create flexible galleries that can be dedicated to the Abstract Expressionists, Color Field painting, the art of Southern California including Robert Irwi…