Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts
 |
|
| Former name | Stanford University Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Established | 1894 |
| Location | Stanford, California |
| Coordinates | 37°25′58.8″N 122°10′15.08″W / 37.433000°N 122.1708556°W |
| Type | Art museum |
| Key holdings | Auguste Rodin sculptures |
| Founder | The Stanford family |
| Website | museum.stanford.edu |
The Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, formerly the Stanford University Museum of Art, and commonly known as the Cantor Arts Center, is an art museum on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. The museum, which opened in 1894, consists of over 130,000 square feet of space, including sculpture gardens. The Cantor Center houses one of the largest collections of Auguste Rodin sculptures, with 199 works by Rodin, most in bronze but also other media; many sculptures are on display in the B. Gerald Cantor Rodin Sculpture Garden.
The Leland Stanford Jr. Museum opened in 1894, one of the few museums founded by a private family with a general art collection. By 1905, the museum was known for its collection of Asian art. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake leveled two wings of the building, destroying the Roman, Egyptian and Asian galleries. Three-quarters of the building were damaged beyond repair. The earthquake, coupled with the death of co-founder Jane Stanford, affected the museum's budget. The museum did not have its own endowment outside of the University, and faculty and administration were focused on academic concerns after the earthquake. The building fell into disrepair and curatorial duties eventually stopped.
Between 1917 and 1945 Pedro Joseph de Lemos, the former head of the San Francisco Art Institute, held the posts of Curator and Director of the Stanford University Museum as well as the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery. He completely reorganized the museum and began a regular series of exhibitions at both venues. According to the Daily Palo Alto Times de Lemos maintained the museum “as a working unit of the University itself . . . with collections that can be consulted with educational benefit to the students.” Part of the museum's space was used by natural science departments before closing in 1945. The museum's collection was inventoried and works of less interest and "aesthetic merit" were deaccessioned. a number of the original works from the Stanford family collection were deaccessioned due to the aesthetic taste of the 1950s. In May 1951, 2,000 visitors were welcomed into the museum for a two-day trial visit. This allowed the museum to examine if community interest was high enough to justify reopening the museum. In 1953, the Committee for Art at Stanford was founded, with the intention of recruiting members and raising funds to re-open the museum. for the next 24 years, the museum worked to expand and conserve its collection, and develop programming, educational services and publications.
...
Wikipedia