Cantor Arts Center
328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5060
Phone: 650-723-4177
Museums From Home
Museums from Home
Here's what to watch, read, and explore to enjoy Stanford art museums from home.
Featured Content
Art/Object:
Contemporary Works between Mediums
Art/Object considers contemporary works in the collections of the Cantor Arts Center and Bowes Library that fall between the cracks of obvious medium categories.
Wendy Red Star:
American Progress
This exhibition, installed throughout the first floor of the Anderson Collection, explores the ideas of Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny through the lens of John Gast’s 1872 painting, American Progress.
A Loaded Camera:
Gordon Parks
This installation foregrounds the significance of portraits—of known, infamous, or anonymous subjects—to Parks’ documentary work.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Take a moment to relax and complete one of our jigsaw puzzles with iconic views of art on campus.
Deborah Kass' OY/YO
Deborah Kass' OY/YO
Anderson Collection Facade
Anderson Collection Facade
View of the Cantor
View of the Cantor
Anderson Collection Facade Detail
Anderson Collection Facade Detail
Museums' North Lawn
North Lawn Puzzle
Rodin Sculpture garden
Sculpture Garden Puzzle
Windhover Diptych
Diptych Puzzle
What to Watch
Take a break from your streaming services, and check out some of the Stanford art museums' most popular videos.
Lectures, time-lapses, and behind-the-scenes footage let you connect with the stories behind our exhibitions.
A Journey Through 'Formed and Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics'
Join Jason Linetzky, Director of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University, Aimee Shapiro, Director of Programming and Engagement, and artists Kahlil Robert Irving and Brie Ruais in a journey through Formed and Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics. You’ll learn more about this exhibition and discover the artists’ practice in their own voices.
The Curatorial Legacy of Leland Stanford Jr.
It is no secret that the Leland Stanford Junior University and Museum were created in memoriam for Leland Jr., but much less is said about how these institutions, and in particular the museum, emerged. The museum’s early collections reflect Leland Jr.’s curatorial interests, nurtured by his doting parents’ great wealth, class tastes, and social connections.
In her talk, Sabrina Papazian, PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology, analyzed the objects collected by Leland and provided insight into his role as a budding intellectual.
Stanford Art & Art History: Past, Present and the Future
Through reminiscences of her many years working with Stanford’s leaders in the arts, Mona Duggan takes us back to the time when the Department of Art and Stanford Museum were joined, and will touch on the milestones that have set the stage for the current renaissance of the arts on campus.
Alexander Nemerov speaks about the present and future state of the Department of Art and Art History in its new home, the McMurtry Building.
Rodin's Art in Medical Diagnosis
In this video from The Wall Street Journal, we learn how the Stanford School of Medicine teach students the diagnostic process using sculptures from French artist Auguste Rodin.
Mark Dion: The 2019 Wilsey Lecture
In this presentation, Dion discusses "The Melancholy Museum," its relationship to installations he has created at other universities, and many of the discoveries he made while working with the Stanford Family collections.
Betray The Secret: Humanity in the Age of Frankenstein
This exhibition was curated as part of Frankenstein@200, a larger celebration at Stanford University marking the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein."
The McMurtry Lectures
The Burt and Deedee McMurtry Lecture is a program of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University, presented in partnership with Stanford Live.
Judy Chicago
Judy Chicago is an American artist and major figure within the early Feminist Art movement of the 1970s.
She is considered one of the most prominent voices in ongoing dialogue about women and art.
Roberta Smith and Jason Andrew
Roberta Smith is the co-chief art critic of The New York Times. She lives in New York. Jason Andrew is an independent curator and producer. He is the founding partner at Artist Estate Studio.
Robert Irwin
For more than six decades, Robert Irwin has explored perception as the fundamental issue of art. Irwin began his career as a painter in the 1950s and became the pioneer of the L.A.-based “Light and Space” movement in the 1960s.
Jordan Casteel: Yvonne and James
Visual artist Jordan Casteel recounts the emotional origin story of Yvonne and James, giving us a glimpse into lives which might otherwise go unseen through her portraits from the Bronx.
What is Motion?
A look at the photography of Muybridge used to prove that a horse's feet all left the ground while galloping.
Josiah McElheny's Island Universe
Josiah McElheny’s monumental installation Island Universe envisions an infinite, multiverse cosmos, where five separate universes occupy the same space, frozen in their individual moments of expansion.
Sound on with Nick Cave
Revisit the 2017 Burt and Deedee McMurtry Lecture, featuring artist Nick Cave in conversation with Harry Elam, Senior Vice Provost for Education and Vice President for the Arts.
Serra's Sequence returns to Cantor Arts Center
Watch as Richard Serra’s massive steel sculpture Sequence (2006) and all 235 tons return after several years indoors at SFMOMA.
The Easter Eggs of Palo Alto Spring
Go beyond the ruffled dresses, striped socks, and strange expressions and learn the mysteries behind Palo Alto Spring, the iconic painting of Leland Jr.'s 10th birthday party.
What to Listen to
Perfect for nature walks or a museum moment of zen, listen to the voices of Stanford's most prominent names in art.
These audio files are part of the oral history project by the Stanford Historical Society.
The origins of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University
In this 2016 interview for Stanford Historical Society, Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson talk about how an auspicious visit to the Louvre led to the creation of their collection of post-World War II American art and a gift of more than 121 major paintings and sculpture to the university.
Nathan Oliveira interviews with the Historical Society
A leading name in the Bay Area figurative movement, Nathan Oliveira discusses his career at Stanford, which began in 1964 after an invitation from Lorenz Eitner, chair of the Stanford art department.
In these interviews, Oliveira also talks about the impact of Stanford art students on his own artistic work.
Frank Lobdell in Conversation with Judith Humburg
Professor Ermeritus Frank Lobdell speaks to a life-long passion and commitment to the making of art, fueled by curiosity of what it means to be human across time and cultures. Along with Nathan Oliveira and Keith Boyle, Lobdell was instrumental in building an studio art program at Stanford.
The Melancholy Museum: Love, Death, and Mourning at Stanford
Visual artist Mark Dion walks you through the inception of The Melancholy Museum, and the Cantor Art Center's exciting and interesting origin story. Watch the video, view the special presentation created by Stanford Report, and explore featured objects from this exhibition.
Richard Diebenkorn's Sketchbooks
Central to the Richard Diebenkorn at the Cantor exhibition, the artist's sketchbooks have been digitized and made available to explore digitally. Sit back and enjoy this micro site* dedicated to the work of this Stanford alum, celebrating his deep and broad connections to our campus.
* Use Safari or Chrome, and expand window to full screen to view.
Jane Stanford's Letters
Jane L. Stanford's letters pertain largely to the founding and administration of Stanford University, along with her personal and social affairs.
Explore this fascinating collection of correspondence, speeches, news clippings, and other biographical materials that Stanford Libraries has digitized and made available to the public.
Andy Warhol Photography Archive
Drawing on a trove of over 3,600 contact sheets featuring 130,000 photographic exposures acquired from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. in 2014, these images document the iconic artist's daily life.
The collection features candid portraits of celebrities and artists of the era including: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Truman Capote, Jimmy Carter, Martha Graham, Halston, Keith Haring, Debbie Harry, Bianca Jagger, Grace Jones, Jackie Kennedy, Liza Minnelli, Dolly Parton, Robert Rauschenberg, Elizabeth Taylor, Diane Von Furstenberg, and more.
Portraits
Explore Portraits
New York Street Scenes
Explore New York Street Scenes
Nightclubs
Explore Nightclubs
More in Our Collections
Auguste Rodin
Drawn from the extensive holdings of the Cantor Arts Center, the largest collection of sculptures by Rodin in an American museum is now available online.
Eadweard Muybridge
His pioneering work in photographic studies of motion took place in a studio at Stanford's Palo Alto Stock Farm, using Leland Sr.'s horse 'Occidental' as his subject.
The Capital Group Foundation
This gift includes works by American photographic masters Ansel Adams, Edward Curtis, John Gutmann, Helen Levitt, Wright Morris, Gordon Parks, and Edward Weston.
Adventures on Paper
Unleash your creativity with these paper projects, brought to you by the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. From clever paper projects to coloring sheets, you can become an artist in the comfort of your home.
Once finished, you can share with us on social media using the hashtag #museumfromhome and tagging us with @anderson.collection.stanford.
Virtual Backgrounds
Be at home with Stanford’s art museums: customize your video conference background, set your computer or phone wallpaper and step inside our galleries -- virtually. Instructions to switch your Zoom background are here (and be sure to uncheck “Mirror my video”)!
- Click on the desired link below
- Right click on the image
- Select 'Save As'
- Transform your Zoom video conference background!
What to Read
Revisit some of the museums' most beloved exhibitions, celebrations, and milestones, and expand your knowledge of the artwork in our collections.
Enjoy this special selection of articles and get to know our museums more closely.
'Formed and Fired' breaks the mold
Formed and Fired: Contemporary American Ceramics at the Anderson Collection highlights artists who are reshaping ceramics in concept and craftsmanship.
Kahlil Robert Irving on shaping clay—and our nation’s future
Earlier this year, Kahlil Robert Irving provided a glimpse into his artistic process and how he’s thinking about the present.
What makes a Rodin ‘a Rodin’?
Cantor associate curator of European art Patrick “Patch” R. Crowley helps unpack Rodin’s approach and how his legacy endures in ways that extend beyond his art.
Cantor Spring Magazine
Explore the artists and ideas that comprise our vision for creating an inclusive museum for 21st century audiences.
Seeing Between the Lines
Assistant Curator of American Art Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander explores a few highlights of The Medium is the Message exhibit.
Photo Texts: Literature Meets Art at the Museum
Students of fiction experience Wright Morris’s work on and off the page.
Meet Maggie Dethloff
Five Questions for Maggie Dethloff, Assistant Curator of Photography and New Media.
Richard Diebenkorn at the Cantor
Diebenkorn's impact has continued on campus thanks to the number of significant artworks given and lent to Stanford.
In the middle of Left of Center
Left of Center brought together seven graduate-student curators to reenvision a new rotation of the Anderson Collection.
Richard Diebenkorn at Stanford
Experts share their perspectives on Richard Diebenkorn's work at the Stanford art museums.
Paper Chase
Archival pigment print. Soft-ground etching. Gelatin silver print. Art on paper can take on myriad forms and expressions. As a decade closes, the Cantor showcases works on paper collected in the last ten years with some for the first time.
The Anderson Collection at Stanford University celebrates its fifth anniversary
In this Q&A session with Robin Wander, Anderson Collection Director Jason Linetzky looks back at the first five years of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University.
PhD candidate explores Persia’s Safavid Empire in her exhibition at the Cantor
Alexandria Hejazi Tsagaris, PhD candidate at Stanford University, studies early modern art and architecture, with a particular focus on Renaissance Italy and Safavid Iran. Read how her educational experience and the Cantor's remarkable material on Persia's history aided her in the curation of Crossing the Caspian.
Saying hello to OY/YO at Cantor Arts Center
Deborah Kass' monumental OY/YO sculpture was inspired by Edward Ruscha’s OOF (1962). Upon seeing it in the Museum of Modern Art, Kass thought to herself, “Oy.” In 2009, she painted the word in the same colors Ruscha used: yellow text on a blue background. Discover the concept behind the bright piece that welcomes visitors to the Cantor.
Compositions Hidden Below Diebenkorn's Window
Richard Diebenkorn's Window is the centerpiece of a new interactive exhibition at the Cantor Arts Center. The exhibit reveals hidden images beneath the painting found by Stanford student Katherine Van Kirk. The hidden compositions date to the mid-1950s and ‘60s, when Diebenkorn was a leader of the Bay Area Figurative movement.
Kahlil Joseph’s BLKNWS Incubated at Stanford
Joseph is interested in expanding traditional print and televised news formats to be more broadly representative.
BLKNWS is a two-channel video broadcast displayed on two side-by-side monitors. Juxtaposed on each screen are media clips of Black American experiences that are paired alongside filmed news desk segments.
The Capital Group Foundation Gift
The 1,000 images from the Capital Group Foundation gift to the Cantor Arts Center—featuring legends like Adams, Weston and Parks—factor in alongside Stanford University’s other high profile photography collections, including the image archive of Andy Warhol and Civil Rights documentarian Bob Fitch.
We’re grateful for your role in our community and your support!
Membership
Receive special benefits at the Cantor Arts Center and The Anderson Collection at Stanford University with one membership.
Contact
For information on making a gift, contact our development office at twomuseums@stanford.edu or 650-723-3482.