Welcome to the Anderson Collection
Stanford University's free museum of modern and contemporary American art

Open Wed - Sun

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Advance reservations not required.
Click here for group visits.

News

Why US universities are investing in their art museums

…d half a dozen new museums and arts centres are opening on campuses across the country, from Columbia University in New York to Rice University in Texas. They come on the heels of recently completed projects at Stanford in California, Harvard in Massachusetts and Yale in Connecticut. This multi-million-dollar investment in culture is fuelled by several factors: administrators’ recognition that the arts can promote nimble thinking, student demand…

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The Magic of The Anderson Collection

…r awe-inspiring fact about the Andersons is that they considered themselves custodians and not owners of the art in their collection. Hunk Anderson described their gift as “a gift that keeps giving”. There is beauty and generosity in this dedication. May it offer many the joy of having an “art moment”. The Anderson Collection is special for many reasons. The collection is deeply personal. It was assembled by a family, not…

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Up Close: One Painting Tours With Artists

A project of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University Hosted by art historian and the associate director of ITALIC at Stanford, Kim Beil, the micro-video series “Up Close: One Painting Tours with Artists” focuses on a single object in the Anderson Collection, sparking dialogue with a guest artist. This project is made possible by a grant from Stanford Arts and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. Artist Rebekah Goldstein explor…

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The Cantor and Anderson Collection offer free membership to Class of 2020

The Cantor and Anderson Collection offer free membership to Class of 2020…

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Stephanie Syjuco: White Balance/Color Cast | Anderson Collection at Stanford University

Reviews Stephanie Syjuco: White Balance/Color Cast | Anderson Collection at Stanford University BY Rachel Heise Bolten, January 3, 2023 Stephanie Syjuco’s exhibition White Balance/Color Cast, on view through March 5, manufactures histories, real and counterfeit. Her work includes photographs, though she does not call herself a photographer – she teaches sculpture as an associate professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Her pictures…

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Contemplations on Sam Francis’s art

…ts that resembled sketches. I started to read the descriptions on the walls, and learned that Francis spent time in Japan, where he was influenced by local culture. I was looking at a painting that covered an entire wall, when two older women walked into the room, immersed in a conversation about his color choices. I wanted to participate: There is something easy about conversations with older people. As I attempted to come up with a question abo…

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“Stellar Axis” at the Anderson Collection draws connections between Earth and sky

…part of the universal. For Albuquerque’s exhibition at the Anderson Collection, one of the surviving 99 spheres is on view amid a bed of salt, standing in for snow. It is accompanied by a selection of photographic works of the Antarctica installation by polar historian and artist Jean de Pomereu, a meditative 8-minute video of the ephemeral artwork by Lionel Cousin, and one painting from Albuquerque’s Auric Field series. “We’re at a moment in hi…

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Fashion statements: Nick Cave’s Soundsuits come to Stanford

…ns. Each item he finds holds a story — the energetic imprint from every previous owner, which he assembles into his Soundsuits. In that way, it can be said that Soundsuits are formed from memories. The Chicago artist’s creations are part sculpture and ornament, armor and instrument and are often worn as costumes and performed in. The energetic vibration of each single, insignificant article is magnified by how Cave chooses to bind the…

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Getting it down on paper: A different aspect of the Anderson Collection on view

…nting”). Her “Monotype VII” has the same energetic feeling as “Approach” upstairs. In the painting, the staining is applied sparingly, so as to create more perspective space. The monotype, however, is a joyous expanse of color punctuated by tiny flashes of white that remind one of fireworks over the ocean. Linetzky said that the second exhibition, which will open in September, will feature more contemporary works by…

News

Anderson Collection at Stanford marks fifth anniversary

…LED-based pieces often use a grid format with blinking lights or blurred black-and-white film backgrounds. Photo by Betty Noguchi/Anderson Collection. The Anderson Collection at Stanford will celebrate its fifth anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 21, with a gala celebration and three new exhibitions. The museum, located in the arts district on the Stanford campus, is home to a renowned collection of post-World War II American art gifted by the lat…

Exhibition

Manuel Neri: Assertion of the Figure

The Catalogues

News

Anderson Collection opens to public on Sept. 21

…ts 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 visitors can reserve timed tickets online at anderson.s…

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Anderson Collection at Stanford solidifies Bay Area’s art stature

…17;s painting changing proportions and accessibility, artworks respond to all sorts of cultural echoes and other influences that we can seldom pinpoint easily. The Still at the top of the stairs prepares us to notice throughout the Anderson Collection fluctuating impressions made by artworks that initially seem foursquare and fully defined. Such an experience of art’s mutability is a key into the psychology of collecting as the Anderson fam…

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A&E Digest

A&E Digest: Student scholarships, fashion for a cause and more This week’s A&E news by Elizabeth Schwyzer / Palo Alto Weekly Twenty-seven student artists from Santa Clara and San Mateo counties have been awarded scholarships for by the Community School of Music and Arts. Photo courtesy of CSMA. This week, students win art scholarships, a film on feminist art screens at Stanford and international fashion designers sell their goods…

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Contemplations on modern art

…rge chaotic dark shape on a white background. Like Rorshcach, who asked people to tell him what they were seeing in his famous inkblots, I questioned how to interpret this painting and thought about what was going on in the artist’s mind. Was he going through a chaotic period in his life? Is it fear he is trying to draw? Anger? I went up to read the description of “Figure 8” by Franz Kline, and learned that he was capturing the energy and the phy…

Hostile Terrain 94
Exhibition

Hostile Terrain 94

Exhibition

Sam Richardson: Islands, Ice, and Sand

News

Stanford Arts District museums offer plenty for a world-class cultural staycation

…paintings and sculptures, as well as more recent acquisitions, are installed. The museum was closed for a period in 2021 while building maintenance was undertaken; it was also an opportunity to totally reinstall the permanent collection. In place of a didactic arrangement of pieces that grouped objects by themes (California Funk, Bay Area Figuration, Abstract Expressionism, etc.) the current installation is a delightful juxtaposition of like and…