Celebrating Modern Art: The Anderson Collection > Modern Sculpture

on view: October 7, 2000 - January 15, 2001 The sculptures on view here were some of the first works collected by the Andersons and served as their introduction to the history of modernism. Looking at nudes by Auguste Rodin and Jacques Lipchitz helped the Andersons appreciate the different approaches and subtle nuances of each artist's working style. The Andersons closely investigated the details of each work, taking a particular interest in those parts that felt close to the artist and the moment of creation. With Rodin's Walking Man (1880-85), for example, Mr. Anderson likes to point out the thumb-sized crook on the man's back, which surely served as a resting place for the artist's hand while he worked on the sculpture.

Henry Moore Reclining Connected Forms 1969 Bronze 33 1/8 x 83 1/4 x 48 1/8 in. Collection of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson

		As a result of this interest in the physical traces of artistic creation, the collection came to focus on the modernist use of expressive gestures and mark-making in abstract painting and sculpture. This emphasis is one of the common themes running throughout the Anderson Collection as a whole. Inspired by their exploration and love of modern sculpture, the Andersons went on to select works by a wide range of artists that evidence the maker's direct, tactile contact with the work of art.
	Alberto Giacometti  The Invisible Object (Hands Holding the Void)  1934  Bronze  60 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 11 in.  Collection of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson

	For more features or information on Celebrating Modern Art: The Anderson Collection, please visit the following sources: Interactive Web feature: Art as Experiment, Art as Experience

Celebrating Modern Art: The Anderson Collection is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is supported by the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Modern Art Council, a Museum auxiliary. Additional generous support is provided by Doris and Donald Fisher, Helen and Charles Schwab, Evelyn D. Haas, Phyllis Wattis, Mimi and Peter Haas, Patricia and William Wilson III, and Elaine McKeon. Media Sponsors: KRON-TV4, BayTV, and SF Gate Copyright © 1996-2008 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art