Something to Get Excited About!

If you live in the Bay Area, you are sooooo lucky: on Sept 21 the Anderson Collection opens at Stanford University, in its own new building.  Over 50 years the Anderson family--dad Hunk, mom Moo, daughter Putter--have built one of the most amazing art collections IN THE WORLD.
Plan to go see it at Stanford, soon.

My dear friend Lea Feinstein has written an inspiring story of the family's journey collecting art:
click here for Lea's Art Ltd. Magazine article

Here's my FAVORITE part:
Hunk says "We didn't know it couldn't be done so we just went ahead and did it."
"People helped us, and we learned. We educated our eyes," says Moo.

The Andersons went from knowing literally zippo, from buying stuff they later ditched, to amassing one of the greatest collections of all time.  Along the way they became close friends with artists, professors, dealers. They kept LEARNING. They kept honing their eyeballs. They kept having fun--their passion and pleasure are evident all over this collection.
So what's holding you back?!
Dive in, learn as much as you can. Buy stuff. If you decide later it doesn't suit you, move on & try some more!

In college I had the huge pleasure of visiting the Anderson's home. They were pals with my professors and always generous about sharing their art to educate other people. (They've been giving back on this score from the beginning.) As a designer, I especially want you to see images of their art at home, wonderfully shot by Adrian Gaut.  The house is a low slung rancher, not an obvious choice to contain a vast collection of modern art. But the house came first, and over time the Andersons made it work, beautifully.
Their home illustrates that it doesn't matter where you live, what your walls, light, space are like.
If you keep at what you really love, it can work.  Beautifully.

Wowza. So much amazing work in this shot of Entry Hall. Note how many SCULPTURES they've fit so nicely.  Yet you can see around them even close to a wall! Sculptures l to r by Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Saul Baizerman.

I love the traditional Chippendale-style chairs with the very large painting by Clyfford Still. The MIX of traditional & modern gives each so much more life, a mix that many Europeans do soooo well. 

I remember well this skinny hallway packed with large scale masters, like Ellsworth Kelly on near left.

The painting by Robert Motherwell has NOTHING to do with the fabrics--and isn't that fabulous!

I could sure look at this Jackson Pollock every night over dinner. I bet they let guests sit on the side facing his painting. Again note that wonderful mix of traditional furniture and modern art, so yin-yang.