Herb and Dorothy Vogel

New thing of today, watched the documentary "Herb and Dorothy". It's a fabulous look into these extraordinary art collectors in New York. Herb was a postal worker and Dorothy was a librarian. They both studied art and loved to collect works and get to know artists. They lived off of Dorothy's salary and bought art off of Herb's. Their rule was to buy art that they liked, could afford and would fit in their one bedroom apartment.

Because of their great taste and keen insight into art and artists they have one of the most significant collections of American Modern Art. They collected and bought from major artists before they became famous. They also became a sort of staple in the art community and are very well respected by artists. 

The great thing is they collected out of love, and simply felt they were stewards to the collection they built. According to the documentary, they have over 4,000 works of art over the 45 years. Their collection borders on hoarding, and it seems they were obsessed, but they had amazing taste. 

The Vogels refuse to sell any of their pieces for profit, even though today various pieces of the collection are valued to be worth millions of dollars. Instead they donate their work to the National Gallery of art and various museums in the United States.

It's a very interesting documentary. It's quite refreshing to see people who really follow their love, and live for something other than money. I'm not a fan of modern art, and some of the pieces in their collection, honestly I don't get it. Although it's interesting to see how many people relate to the art and see something other than, a red square or a teal Tetris piece. I suppose this demonstrates that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. 

I highly recommend watching it if you're interested. See more at PBS - Herb and Dorothy Vogel.