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.

Exhibition

Wendy Red Star: American Progress

News

Stanford: The New Art Place To Be

Many in the art world have been anticipating the opening on Sept. 21 of the collection of Harry and Mary Margaret Anderson at Stanford — even from afar. In 2011, the couple donated 1 21 works of contemporary art, filled with paintings by the likes of Pollock, Diebenkorn, Rothko Elsworth Kelly, de Kooning, Joan Mitchell (Begin Again IV at left), and Elizabeth Murray, to name a few, to Stanford on the condition that it build galleries to house the…

News

Stanford Opens a Museum Highlighting American Art

…cause of their relationship with the school—they had long encouraged Stanford student groups and classes to tour their collection. Now the Andersons have replaced their masterpieces—estimated to be valued at hundreds of millions—with works on paper. “I used to describe the dining room as a room you could have a feast in without having a meal,” says Mr. Anderson, referring to the art that once hung there. How did they become Hunk and M…

News

Senate visits the arts district to discuss the humanities

…the Faculty Senate on Thursday. Holding its Feb. 5 meeting at the Anderson Collection at Stanford University, the Faculty Senate gave members the opportunity to visit the newest addition to the university’s growing arts district and to take guided tours of the galleries. “I hope one thing that gets accomplished this afternoon is that you have the chance to see – for those of you who don’t spend time in this area – just how mu…

News

Honing the art of observation, and observing art

…urse brings students to the Cantor Arts Center and Anderson Collection to practice close observation of art, and then learn how to translate those skills to a clinical setting. MAR 6 201 Medical students Sam Cartmell (facing camera) and Abhinav Golla (in red sweatshirt) look at Robert Frank’s Car Accident — U.S. 66, Between Winslow and Flagstaff, Arizona at the Cantor Arts Center, with Sarah Naftalis (far right), a graduate student in art hi…

News

“Reaching Towards Warmer Suns”: A Q&A with artist Kiyan Williams ’13

…d University from Jul. 29 to Dec. 5. Williams has also created numerous other works of art, such as “Pig Roast,” inspired by police violence toward Black people. They previously worked at Virginia Commonwealth University and served as a fellow with New York University. Their art will be exhibited in New York City this coming fall. The Stanford Daily [TSD]: What inspired your current exhibit, “Reaching Towards Warmer Suns” with the Anderson Collec…

News

The Anderson Collection celebrates the 100th anniversary of Sam Francis’ birthday

…immobilized in a hospital in Northern California for a few years. During his recuperation, Francis studied with the artist David Park, who later became a key figure of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. For Francis, painting became a “way back to life.” In the late 1940s, he returned to the University of California, Berkeley, where he was enrolled before enlisting and changed course from pre-med to painting and art history. At a time when many yo…

Exhibition

Kerry Tribe

Exhibition

Sam Richardson: Islands, Ice, and Sand

About

The Building

News

Jason Linetzky named first director of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University

…y of care for this important art so lovingly collected by the Anderson family.” Linetzky will be responsible for the presentation of the Anderson Collection and the operation of the new space, but the immediate focus is hiring staff, planning the inaugural exhibition, editing the accompanying catalog and overseeing docent training. He will also be building partnerships on campus. Partners include his arts district neighbors, the Cantor Arts Cente…

REPORT: Stanford

News

Top-Flight Ab-Ex Collection Anchors Stanford’s New Art District

…o, Clyfford Still, and Ellsworth Kelly, to name a few. There are also a number of works that represent movements in California art, including Bay Area Figurative and Light & Space. The collection was assembled over the course of 50 years by Bay Area collectors Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson along with their daughter Patricia Anderson Pence. The Andersons, originally from the East Coast, met at college in upstate New York and were married…

News

Anderson Collection at Stanford University to Open this Month

…dence there. And Hunk Anderson’s Cliff May-designed office complex will now be missing major artworks, but the Andersons are pleased their collection will be on public display in a dedicated building on the Stanford campus. “I think in order to enjoy art, you have to share it,” remarked Moo Anderson to the  LA Times . Located adjacent to the university’s Cantor Arts Center, the Anderson Collection will be latest addition to Stan…

Anderson Collection at Stanford to open September 21

News

Anderson Collection of 20th century American art, opens at Stanford on Sept. 21

…represented, among them Mark Rothko, Philip Guston, Wayne Thiebaud and Joan Mitchell, joining Motherwell et al. The crown jewel is Pollock’s horizontal drip painting “Lucifer” (1947), one of his most important works. The Andersons are said to have turned down an offer of $50 million for “Lucifer,” made in the mid-1990s by music mogul David Geffen. The canvas that once hung over Putter’s girlhood bed is easily…

News

‘Animating the Inanimate’: Redefining an art form

…of multicolored silk. The human body does not feature prominently in Twist’s work but rather is a side character in the narrative that he creates.Twist’s creative process involves visualization of movement and experimentation with materials like cardboard and silk — juxtaposing the visual properties of hard and soft materials. By playing around with different media, Twist acquires a vocabulary of visual effects that he can incorporate into his pe…

News

The Do List: Cy and David’s Picks

…d calls it performance art. Whatever  you call it, it’s very cool stuff and very worth a visit to Stanford. Both the Anderson Collection and the Cantor are always free, so it’s one of our Cheap Thrills this week.   Sept 16 & 17: Angelica’s in Redwood City is a kind of throwback, a supper club where you can go for dinner and a show. With help from Redwood City, they’re trying something ambitious these next two days in celebration of Mexic…

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Suit up: Step into the Vibrant, Colorful and Furry World of Artist Nick Cave

The audience for Nick Cave’s Soundsuits isn’t really the audience. To put it another way, people looking at the artist’s tall, bright, faceless garments from the outside are part of the audience. But another important audience member is the one wearing a Soundsuit: the person inside. Although visitors to the new exhibition can’t try on the suits, seeing them in person is just as good and not quite as tricky. At the two-…