Stanford art donor Anderson, 95, dies
His collection, at rove of 20 th-century American art, is on view at the university
Harry W. “Hunk” Anderson, a South Bay businessman whose love for art led to one of the world’s most significant collections of modern art being housed at Stanford University, died Wednesday at his Peninsula home at the age of 95. The founder of the food service company Saga Corporation, Anderson was a passionate art collector, devoted to discovering the heart of modern art. In 2011, he announced that much of his treasure trove of 20thcentury American art, one of the largest of its kind in the world, would be housed at Stanford and open to the public.
Dubbed the Anderson Collection, this epic canon spins around 121 pieces by 86 artists. A deep and rich array of notable works, the donation included such masterpieces as Jackson Pollock’s “Lucifer” (1947), Willem de Kooning’s “Woman Standing — Pink” (1954-55) and a 1973 piece from Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park series.
“Throughout our adult lives, we have always been closely associated with colleges and universities, and in making this gift to Stanford we anticipate the students, the public and the entire art community will have the opportunity to fully engage the collection,” the Anderson family said in a release at the time. “Hopefully, this gift makes a great university greater, and the world a grain of salt better.”
Anderson and his wife, Mary Margaret, known as “Moo,” had been avid art collectors for decades. In the 1960s, they connected with artists and art historians at Stanford’s Department of Art and Art History as they built their singular collection. In 1975 the family launched a graduate internship program for Stanford doctoral art history students. More than 30 doctoral candidates at Stanford interned at the Anderson Collection over the years.
“Hunk Anderson had an infectious enthusiasm and passion for art, and for sharing art to benefit society broadly,” Stanford President Emeritus John Hennessy said in a release. “He just lit up whenever he described what each work meant, and how it inspired creativity. It was this shared passion that bonded us, as we met through our mutual interest in visual arts.
“Hunk’s insistence that the family’s remarkable collection go to a place that would curate it in perpetuity, so that it could be used, shared and seen, reflected his philosophy that art can and should inspire all of us. All of us at Stanford will always have the deepest affection for Hunk as a generous, big-hearted man.”
The Anderson Collection at Stanford University has been seen by nearly 250,000 visitors. The collection, which continues to evolve through gifts from the community, is also viewable online.
Anderson is survived by his wife; his daughter, Mary Patricia “Putter” Anderson Pence, an art adviser in Los Angeles; and granddaughter Devin Pence, a first-year student at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The family plans to have a private burial but will hold a celebration of Hunk’s life in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Anderson Collection at Stanford University online at anderson.stanford.edu.