In July, Stanford announced an extraordinary gift of 121 influential works of art from collectors Harry W. Anderson, Mary Margaret Anderson and their daughter Mary Patricia Anderson Pence. A showcase of American artists from the second half of the 20th century, the Anderson Collection adds a marquee flourish to the ambitious arts initiative already under way.
The Andersons envision Stanford as an arts destination of new allure and clout. "Just the abstract expressionists will draw the world community," notes Harry.
Jackson Pollock's Lucifer is one of the best-known treasures. Mount San Jacinto College art professor John Seed, '79, who interned with the Andersons while at Stanford, observes that it even held a sense of mystery for the artist. "Lucifer is the largest of a group of drip paintings that Pollock painted in the fall of 1947, the year his signature 'drip' style coalesced. Pollock, who was 35 when he painted Lucifer, was initially so confounded by the work that he asked his wife, artist Lee Krasner, 'Is this a painting?' "
Other works include Willem de Kooning's Woman Standing—Pink (1954-55), Ellsworth Kelly's Black Ripe (1955), Sam Francis's Red in Red (1955), Wayne Thiebaud's Candy Counter (1962), Philip Guston's The Coat II (1977) and Ocean Park #60 (1973) by Richard Diebenkorn, '44. Sculptures include David Smith's Timeless Clock (1957).
Stanford will construct a building devoted to the collection in the same "arts district" as the Cantor Arts Center, the Bing Concert Hall (under construction) and the planned McMurtry Building for the department of art and art history. The Andersen Gallery is expected to open in late 2014.
"The collection will draw visitors and scholars and potentially lead to valuable collaborations with other institutions, including borrowing other relevant works of art," says Nancy Troy, chair of art and art history. "It will allow students to study important works in a variety of different aesthetic and visual contexts and enable us to teach courses around original works of the highest quality."
"Transformative" was the all-encompassing description used by Burt McMurtry, MS '59, PhD '62, former chair of the University Board of Trustees. In 2004 McMurtry, who with his wife, Deedee, is giving $30 million toward the art department building, initiated conversations with the Andersons. Talks continued, though stymied by the University's inability to commit financially to a new building, as well as other "ordinary complications" and the recession.
But as the economic outlook brightened early this year, the push was on to bring the long-evolving negotiations to fruition. The Andersons, speaking or nodding as one, say President John Hennessy "was like a tiger, really, about making it happen."
THE COLLECTORS: Paintings by Franz Kline and Mark Rothko flank the Andersons, donors of 121 works, including Diebenkorn's Ocean Park #60 (above). (Photo: Linda A. Cicero/Stanford University News Service)
The Andersons have longstanding connections with Stanford, notably through galvanizing friendships with art professors Albert Elsen, who died in 1995, and Nathan Oliveira, who died last year. They also had a close association with the late Leo Holub, the founder of Stanford's photography program, who made portraits of more than 100 artists with works in the Anderson Collection. The food service business that Harry co-founded in 1948 was headquartered near campus for decades, and a chain of Stanford students interned with the Andersons.
A 1964 visit to the Louvre ignited the couple's interest in collecting, and their eventual focus—edgy and formative post-World War II creations—resulted in a collection of works as distinctive as it is consequential. Their guiding mantra was, "Have we seen it before and could we have thought of it?"
Seed remembers one thrilling moment in the Andersons' home. "Lucifer hung in their dining room along with a 1934 Picasso bullfight scene—which was later sold—and de Kooning's Woman Standing—Pink. Standing in that room was the second most aesthetic experience I have ever had. The most intense was entering Chartres Cathedral for the first time."
