Cedar Rapids Museum of Art’s Workshop Lecture “10 Ways to Collect on a Budget”

by Dena Tollefson

http://www.denatollefson.com/


I attended a really neat lecture at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art on Thursday night entitled “10 Ways to Collect on a Budget”, presented by museum Director Terry Pitts and Curator Sean Ulmer. The workshop started with information about the Vogels- Dorothy and Herbert Vogel amassed over 4,000 works of art over their lifetime. Dorothy was a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library, Herbert a mail sorter with the post office. They lived off her salary and spent his on art. That’s a lot of art!!

The Vogels donated 2,500 pieces of their collection by giving 50 pieces to one art museum in each of the 50 states. The CRMA is Iowa’s designated recipient of the Vogel gift.

Learn more about the Vogels: http://vogel5050.org/#about&page=1&image=0

Dorothy and Herbert collected from artists they knew and gradually got a reputation as art collectors- they had a knack for spotting new talent and established talent. For example, they bought a Picasso ceramic in the early 1960’s as a engagement gift for one another. According to the website, their collection is considered “one of the most remarkable collections of contemporary art in America”

I love the classic quote from their website, “According to Dorothy, “art is Herby’s only interest, except for animals.”

Learn more about the CRMA exhibition of the 50 pieces in Cedar Rapids: http://www.crma.org/Exhibition/Detail/Current/Less-is-More-The-Vogel-Gift-of-Minimal-and-Conceptual-Art.aspx


More about the CRMA collecting on a budget workshop on my next post...