Legendary art collectors Herb and Dorothy

Last weekend I participated in an art tour to New York City (NYC) organized by a local association. On the way there, we watched the documentary on  Herb and Dorothy Vogel who are art collectors that amassed a priceless collection.  Although they collected minimal and conceptual art, which is not my cup of tea, the movie is nevertheless a fascinating one.

Maybe my American friends had heard of this interesting story, but I hadn't.  Herb and Dorothy Vogel spent their married life living in a 450-square-foot one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, New York. Their earnings were very modest; Herb never earned more than $23,000 a year and  Dorothy was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. They lived frugally.

One of their salaries paid for the rent, food and day to day necessities, the other salary was used for their passion - collecting minimal and conceptual art. Herb spent a considerable amount of time in the library reading about art.

In 1962, the year they were married, they bought a small sculpture made from metal by the artist John Chamberlain. They had no idea that the joint purchase would be the first of thousands.  They bought art for the love of the individual pieces and the thrill of a good deal. They developed a methodical system for scouting, assessing, and purchasing art - most of the time directly from the artist.

Each week, the couple visited dozens of galleries and studios. They spent much time with the artists, mostly unknown at the time, to get to know them and negotiating prices. Aside from liking the art, they had 3 criteria:

1. The art work had to be affordable
2. The art work had to fit in their apartment;
3. The art work had be transportable via taxi or subway.

from Herbanddorothy.com/Fine Line Media Inc.

By the early 80's, the size of their collection was overwhelming and the Vogels had gotten rid of most of their furniture except their bed and dining table (see photo above) to make room to store their art. And still there was no more room. They began meeting with curators and evaluating their options. They knew they wanted to donate their collection instead of selling it, and they liked the US National Gallery, which is free to the public and maintains a policy against selling their art. In 1990, the Vogel collection (more than 2,400 works) was transferred to the US National Gallery.

The National Gallery paid the Vogels a small annuity in exchange for their generous donation. However, as can be expected, the Vogels continued to collect art. With the annuity, the Vogels collected another +1,500 pieces of art.

In 2012, Forbes magazine estimated the Vogels collection to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sadly, Herb died in July 2012, at the age of 89. Dorothy, who was 13 years younger still lives.

Aside from the fascinating story on how this couple amassed a multi million dollar art collection, this movie is about passion about art and the love between this couple.  I suggest you find a copy and watch it.  Let me know what you think.

Have a great week
Danielle