Collectors: Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, Just Middle-Class Americans

AOL NEWS
By Bruce Watson

NEW YORK---Art collecting often seems like a rich man's game, open only to the rarefied few who can plunk down millions of dollars without breaking a sweat. But the recent death of Herbert Vogel, one of America's most famous art collectors, points to another art world, one in which a pair of middle-class workers, following their passion and their pocketbook, can build a world-class collection. Given their limited funds -- her salary paid for household expenses, while his paid for art -- they focused on the cutting edge of the art world, where prices were lower and investments had more room to appreciate. Their rules were simple: They had to love what they bought, be able to easily afford it, and it had to fit into their tiny, one-bedroom apartment. The Vogels amassed one of the most significant modern art collections in the U.S., a treasure trove of almost 5,000 sculptures, paintings, and prints that they later donated to 51 museums across the country, including the National Gallery of Art. [link]