…n Mario Botta’s original concept for SFMOMA, now under siege as a result of that museum’s expansion, the building is simple and unpretentious, Most importantly, it provides a tasteful showcase for the art – the majority of which is installed on the expansive second floor – while not overshadowing it. Clerestories allow for filtered natural light on either side of a central staircase that has a curved ceiling above it; best of all, an…

…dersons were captivated by an exhibition of the French Impressionists. They bought their first works, by Picasso and Matisse, and started building a collection that included American Modernists Georgia O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley and Arthur Dove. In 1969, they made a switch from the Impressionists and Modernists to postwar American art. The timing was perfect. There wasn’t as much competition to drive up the prices and they went straight for the be…

…res. “Makida III,” a 1997 carving on view at the Anderson Collection, is partially wrapped in feathery pale pink and blue strokes, a delicate and counter-intuitive Manuel Neri, “Makida III” (1997), 24 x 16 x 22 in., marble and oil-based enamel, marble base: 4 x 16 in. diameter application of color that somehow works in concert with the head’s luxurious smoothness. Marble brought out another side of Neri: his refinement. Jason Linetzky, the Direct…

When Allison and Dan Rose moved into their historic Palo Alto home, their art was essentially limited to Pottery Barn and Z Gallerie buys. It was interior designer Jon de la Cruz who suggested the couple consider elevating their acquisitions. Four years later, the walls of their 1905 Craftsman are decorated with contemporary works from the likes of John Chiara, Gabriel Orozco, Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra and Hiroshi Sugimoto. “We started buying a…

…atricia 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 collection. They sought out the best examples by the most noteworthy artists available, and had the good fortune — and foresight — to purchase stellar works by artists working in the Abstract Expressionist movement before prices became prohi…

…university museum art collections.” Knight has that right, but I don’t agree with his assessment of the Richard Olcott designed building which he dinged as “rather dull.” I found the second floor galleries — lit from above by a rim of semi-transparent clerestory windows — serenely perfect. The Anderson Collection building is spacious, elegant and perfectly in tune with the collection it houses. One of the effe…