Stanford University has announced that Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson and Mary Patricia Anderson Pence have donated the core of the family's art collection — one of the finest collections of twentieth-century American art in the world — to the university.

The gift marks a major milestone in the Stanford Arts Initiative, a university-wide project to support the arts through investment in new facilities, programs, and faculty. To house the 121-piece collection, which was amassed over nearly fifty years and is anchored in the mid-century New York School, Stanford plans to construct a new building.

Containing notable works such as Jackson Pollock's Lucifer, Willem de Kooning's Woman Standing - Pink, Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park #60, Sam Francis' Red in Red, Philip Guston's The Coat II, Ellsworth Kelly's Black Ripe, and Clyfford Still's 1957-J No. 1, the collection is one of the most valuable and significant ever to be donated to a university.

"The Andersons' contribution is historic and their desire to share this remarkable collection with the world reflects their philosophy that art can inspire all of us," said Stanford president John Hennessy. "It will be an honor to own this beloved collection at Stanford University and curate these works in perpetuity for the benefit of future generations of students, art scholars, and the public. We intend to continue the Andersons' tradition of making great art accessible by highlighting the collection as a key element in our broad arts initiative at Stanford."