The Spencer Art Museum has its origins in the personal collection of Sallie Casey Thayer, who donated her estate to the University of Kansas in 1917. The university decided to establish a museum in Spooner Hall in 1928, however, by the 1960s the building had outgrown its space. Helen Foresman Spencer donated a large sum to fund the new building in 1978 and the architect responsible was Robert E. Jenks. Among the works from Castilla y León housed in the institution is the tympanum with the lamentation of Christfrom the Monastery of Nuestra Señora de La Armedilla (Valladolid).
