RECENT ACQUISITIONS
Announcing a Major Gift from
Herbert and Dorothy Vogel
by Will South, Chief Curator
The Columbia Museum of Art is honored
to announce it has been selected as the
recipient of 594 works of art from Herbert
and Dorothy Vogel, internationally
recognized collectors of contemporary art.
This substantial collection represents work
in various media by 14 different artists
including Michael Lucero, Lucio Pozzi,
Daryl Trivieri and Richard Artschwager,
among others. Thirteen of these artists are
not currently represented in our collection.
Herb Vogel is a retired postman, Dorothy
a retired librarian, and on their modest
incomes they have built a collection of
over 4500 objects spanning all media
and covering the most innovative art
movements of the late 20th century.
Their joint acumen and prescience as
collectors is explored in the 2008 film,
Herb and Dorothy, and confirmed by the
National Gallery of Art’s acceptance of 908
works of art this past year. Additionally, the
Vogels gave 50 works of art to each of the
50 States. A follow-up film is in production
documenting the effects of the 50/50
project.
The CMA was selected in 2008 as the
recipient of the 50 works of art for South
Carolina, a gift that was exhibited in 2010.
Museum director Karen Brosius visited
with the Vogels at the time and expressed
interest in future donations of art, should
such a possibility come about. The Vogels
noted Karen’s enthusiasm and appreciation,
and determined the CMA would be offered
the remaining works in their collection
following the NGA gift and the 50/50 gifts.
“We are both honored and thrilled to be
the recipient of this important collection
from Herb and Dorothy Vogel, two of
America’s leading collectors of cuttingedge contemporary art. Their generous
gift greatly strengthens our collection
and supports our mission to celebrate
outstanding artistic creativity,” said Karen
Brosius, executive director.
I visited the National Gallery of Art and
met with curators and the Vogels. The
couple is deeply involved in the final
disposition of their collection, the building
of which has been the singular passion of
their lives together. That they have selected
the CMA as the second-largest repository
of their art (after the NGA) is a significant
vote of confidence in our ability to care for
and explicate these works of art.
Dorothy Vogel said of the gift: “We are
thrilled the Columbia Museum is receiving
many works from our collection, as we
so much wished to keep large parts of it
together. We know the art has found a
good home, will be used and appreciated,
and enrich the lives of others the way it has
for me and Herb.”
Left: Daryl Trivieri, American, born 1957. Study of Burkman
Cat, 1990, airbrush and acrylic on gesso. The Dorothy and
Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, a joint
initiative of the Trustees of the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel
Collection and the National Gallery of Art, with generous
support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the
Institute for Museum and Library Services. CMA 2008.6.42.
Above: Dorothy and Herbert Vogel at The Clocktower with a
drawing by Philip Pearlstein behind them, 1975. Photograph
by Nathaniel Tileston.
columbiamuseum.org
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