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Cantor Arts CenterTen years after its closure by earthquake damage, the Stanford Museum, renovated and expanded, reopened in January 1999 as part of the new Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The 120,000-square-foot Cantor Arts Center includes the historic Museum building (constructed in 1891), an enhanced Rodin Sculpture Garden and a new wing with a bookstore, cafe and space for special exhibitions. Opened in 1891, the classically influenced Stanford Museum was dedicated as a memorial to Leland and Jane Stanford's only child, Leland Stanford Jr., a passionate collector of art and archaeology before his untimely death in 1884 at the age of 15. While the new wing, completed in 1999, differs markedly from the strict symmetrical design of the original building, its proportions and materials complement that structure. The 27 galleries of the Cantor Center exhibit a diverse range of artwork, from Renaissance paintings to African masks and dance staffs to Asian representations of the historical Buddha. Highlights include works by Jasper Johns, Georgia O'Keeffe, William de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn (a Stanford alumnus), and the largest collection of Auguste Rodin sculptures outside the Musée Rodin in Paris. An extensive collection of outdoor art can
be found throughout the campus. Adjacent to Meyer Library is Rodin's
famous Thinker; along Lasuen Mall rests Joan Miró's
Oiseau; near the Main Quad is another work by Rodin, Burghers
of Calais; and between the bookstore and the Law School soars
Alexander Calder's The Falcon. The Papua
New Guinea Sculpture Garden, near Tresidder Union, features
the carving methods, cultural traditions and mythological heritage
of the Kwoma and Iatmul people of Papua New Guinea.
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