I just finished watching the quirky documentary, Herb & Dorothy, about a Manhattan couple of modest means who amassed one of the greatest collections of modern art in the country, then donated it all to the National Gallery of Art because they wanted to “give back to the American people.” Amazing story.
The now-retired Herb and Dorothy Vogel, who once paid the rent as a postal clerk and public librarian, began buying modern art in the 60s from little-known but talented artists, for $50 and $100 a pop. They had discerning taste, invested in the right artists, and eventually became part of New York’s art scene themselves, establishing friendships with Christo and Chuck Close, among others.
By the 90s, the Vogels’ collection had grown so large that the couple was virtually boxed in to their small one-bedroom apartment. Once they struck a deal with the National Gallery, it took five full-sized moving vans to truck the collection to Washington.
It’s hard to miss the Vogels’ names on many of the modern pieces in the National Gallery’s East Wing. I never knew their story, but on my next trip to the gallery it will be hard not to envision these pieces in their previous incarnation: hanging in an overstuffed apartment amid cats, fish tanks, stacks of books, and a middle-class couple who, quite simply, lived for art.
Herb & Dorothy is available on Netflix, as well as in the National Gallery of Art gift shop, lower level.
