…ion is built without a curator,” Mr. Anderson says. “What’s right about the collection belongs to Moo and Hunk Anderson, and what’s wrong with the collection belongs to Moo and Hunk Anderson.” In 2011, the couple had more than 800 pieces. They decided to give the “irreplaceables” to Stanford in part because of their relationship with the school—they had long encouraged Stanford student groups and classes…

…s that they have since received a number of gifts. A rendering of the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (Photo: © Steven Holl Architects/ the Institute for Contemporary Art, VCU) At universities where the arts have always been a calling card, support has flowed more easily. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia, has had the country’s top ranked public graduate school of art and design for ye…

…re is no consolidated repository or database for these seals of America’s over 500 Indigenous tribes (and closer to 800, if accounting for those that are not federally recognized). “Being able to show those seals and those flags, in connection with the map, is really powerful and says: ‘Hey, we’re here,’” Shapiro said. “And everything you’ve been told is not everything.” In a hallway that connects the galleries where Red Star’s American Progress…

The Anderson Collection opens to the public at its new Stanford University home this Sunday, Sept. 21, in a freestanding pavilion next to the Cantor Arts Center in the University’s growing arts district. Members of the Cantor Arts Center and the Anderson Collection can also attend a special preview of the museum on Sept. 20. Opening day festivities will include food trucks, music, activities and digital tours. Admission is free, and while visito…

…ard Diebenkorn: The Sketchbooks Revealed presents 29 of the artist’s sketchbooks (along with digital versions on touchscreen kiosks) alongside Edward Hopper: New York Corner, a recently-acquired work by an artist who influenced the young Diebenkorn when he studied at Stanford as an undergrad. And complementing the sketchbook theme is Artists at Work, a show that promise to “demystify” the artistic process. But what I’m most excited about is an ex…

…s postponed from spring 2020 and will be on view upon the museum’s reopening, hopefully in early 2021. A virtual tour of the show is available online now. “By sharing the work and voices of these contemporary artists, our visitors can engage with current issues while reflecting on work in the permanent collection,” said Jason Linetzky, director of the Anderson Collection. “Formed & Fired gives us an opportunity to present innovative sculptors…

…ormer director Susan Dackerman. A lengthy investigation, begun after an exposé in the Stanford Daily, revealed a toxic work culture at the museum and ended with Dackerman’s resignation in late November. The university has been circumspect about personnel matters, but did issue a press release at the time indicating that a transition team “will work closely with stakeholders from across the campus and community to situate the museum fo…

…Park (1911-60). The painting will be on view when the museum reopens on Sept. 22, 2021. “I am extremely grateful to Keith Jantzen and Scott Beth for their generous gift to the Anderson Collection,” said Jason Linetzky, director of the museum. “The addition of this work focuses renewed attention on David Park, a compassionate artist and educator whose inventive spirit and camaraderie with artists forever transformed the landscape of figurative pai…

…ey character: a little lost, a little gloomy, a little unsure about the decisions I have been making. So, I went to the Anderson Collection on a Saturday morning by myself, because museums have a calming effect on me. I needed to find my center again. As I entered the Anderson Collection, I climbed up the stairs to reach the permanent collection. I was in the middle of a room surrounded by large canvases of colors. One of them, covering almost th…

…1; 1983) and Robert Hudson (“Plumb Bob” 1982). They are fun and lively, and perhaps lead the visitor to think that all the mystery about modern art is exaggerated. But then the grand staircase, which takes the visitor to the second floor where the majority of the art is installed, leads directly to an encounter with Clyfford Still’s “1957-J No.1.” The work is an interesting choice for such a focal point; large in sc…

…Collection building opened at the Palo Alto campus of Stanford University—our frequent partner-in-crime when it comes to celebrating the West. Designed by the same team that created Stanford’s stellar Bing Concert Hall, the structure houses 121 works of modern and contemporary American art, all donated by Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson. Of course, we’re most excited about the pieces that have a Western flavor: three lovely Diebenkorns, a Th…

…etting for a show full of little revelations — who knew any remained? — of the art of figures we thought we knew too well. Carleton Watkins: The Stanford Albums: The Stanford University Libraries presented to the public for the first time at the Cantor Arts Center the full riches of albums they received decades ago in which the luckless but relentless Carleton Watkins recorded the prising open of the American West by alien forces both commercial…

…visit. Here are just a handful of the museum’s highlights: “Jackson Pollock’s ‘Lucifer’ is something that people come to see. It previously hung over Putter’s bed, before moving to the dining room and before coming here.” “There’s an incredible Mark Rothko (‘Pink and White Over Red’) that’s just beautiful — a seductive red painting.” “Robert Irwin’s untitled disk is capturing people’s attention. There’s this shadow quality — he was very intereste…

…ht-provoking and challenging suits are constructed in ways that refuse to reveal gender, age or race. They offer complete anonymity. To imagine yourself in them is to turn the collective sharing of memories into a personal epiphany. The Anderson exhibit includes eight Soundsuits, three video works and a recently completed documentary about Nick Cave titled “Here.” There also is an interactive felt wall where visitors to the gallery ca…

…te,” focusing on works depicting the national park that the 79-year-old artist created with an iPad. In addition to New York, where it is headquartered, Pace has galleries in London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Seoul. It may seem like San Francisco, rather than Palo Alto, would make sense to add to that list. But not so, says Glimcher. “There was no significant presence by a commercial gallery in Silicon Valley,” he explains. “When an amazing thing co…