Stuart Collection (San Diego, Calif.)

The Stuart Collection was created in 1981 through a partnership between the University of California, San Diego and the Stuart Foundation with a gift from businessman and philanthropist James Stuart deSilva (1919-2002). DeSilva's goal was to establish a collection of public art in a setting where people who might not otherwise seek out art could encounter it as part of their everyday lives. In addition to its original $1.5 million endowment, the collection has received financial support from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Russell Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and the California Arts Council. Since 1998, the Friends of the Stuart Collection International Advisory Committee has also provided an important network of support both for new projects and the long-term care of built works. Founding director Mary Beebe has overseen the collection and its growth since 1981. Artists invited by the Stuart Collection's Advisory Committee to contribute proposals are prominent figures of twentieth-century conceptual art, including artists not typically associated with environmental sculpture. The Advisory Committee includes the Stuart Foundation's chair and at least one artist, an art critic, and a member of the UCSD faculty. As of 2002, more than forty artists had submitted proposals. As of 2006, the Stuart Collection includes 16 completed works: SUN GOD (1983), Niki de Saint Phalle ; TWO RUNNING VIOLET V FORMS (1983), Robert Irwin ; LA JOLLA PROJECT (1984), Richard Fleischner ; TREES (1986), Terry Allen ; SOMETHING PACIFIC (1986), Nam June Paik ; UNDA (1987), Ian Hamilton Finlay ; VICES AND VIRTUES (1988), Bruce Nauman ; LA JOLLA VISTA VIEW (1988), William Wegman ; UNTITLED (1991), Michael Asher ; TERRACE (1991), Jackie Ferrara ; GREEN TABLE (1992), Jenny Holzer ; SNAKE PATH (1992), Alexis Smith ; RED SHOE (1996), Elizabeth Murray ; STANDING (1998), Kiki Smith ; READ/WRITE/THINK/DREAM (2001), John Baldessari ; BEAR (2005), Tim Hawkinson.