Columbia Museum of Art to show Vogel Collection pieces
As someone who has sometimes succumbed to the mania of collecting, I can understand how such an obsession can take root. It is mainly for that reason that I have long been attracted to the stories of collectors and the evolution of their collections.
In this regard, there is no more compelling tale than that of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel. When they moved into a one-bedroom apartment in the Upper East Side of Manhattan one year after their marriage in 1962, the Vogels decided to buy some art to adorn their new living space. Nearly 50 years later, they are still in that same small apartment, but the few pieces of art that they purchased in the early years of their marriage became part of a collection that eventually numbered more than 4,000 pieces.
Neither Herbert nor Dorothy had independent means; he was a postal clerk, and she was a librarian. Yet, they both studied art history and tried their hand at painting, mostly works of abstract expressionism. They soon discovered, however, that they would rather look at art than make art, and the Vogels began frequenting New York galleries on the weekends.
Over time, this couple of rather modest means became a familiar sight at art openings, and their collection benefited not only from their ability to find a bargain - they focused on drawings at a time when such works were undervalued in the marketplace - but also from the fact that they became friends with many of the artists living and working in New York. Impressed by the Vogels' enthusiasm, some artists invited the couple to their studios and even donated pieces to the Vogels in support of their passion for collecting.
It was only a matter of time before news of the treasure trove in Herbert and Dorothy Vogel's small apartment spread, and museum officials were beating a path to their door.
By 1990, at which time their apartment had become more of an art warehouse than a residence, the Vogels decided to donate 2,400 pieces to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
In the last couple of years, plans for the final disbursement of the rest of the collection took shape, and this brings us to the subject of a special exhibition on view at the Columbia Museum of Art.
The Vogels decided to disperse the remaining 2,500 drawings, paintings, prints, photographs and objects in their collection to institutions in all 50 states, designating roughly 50 works to each venue.
The Columbia Museum of Art is the fortunate recipient of the South Carolina allotment, 50 pieces - 10 paintings, six sculptures and 34 works on paper - by 28 individual artists.
Of the works on display in the first-floor galleries, there are many gems, including two sketches by Michael Lucero.
Rendered in pencil and watercolor on graph or notebook paper, each of these pieces, dating from 1987 and 1989 respectively, serves as a preliminary rendering of a possible sculpture inspired by the artist's fascination for American Indian culture.
I could see why Herbert and Dorothy Vogel were drawn to these two mixed media works because drawings frequently offer insight into the artistic process; they often chart the path from original intention to finished product. In the case of the two Lucero drawings, the viewer is presented with two-dimensional renderings of what might eventually become three-dimensional earthenware sculptures.
I remember well a major exhibition of Lucero's sculptures at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte in 1996. Interspersed among smaller hand-built ceramic pieces displayed on tables and stands were some of the large-scale whimsical totem poles for which the artist is now famous.
The drawings from the Vogel Collection capture on paper tentative ideas for two such sculptures to be made of stacked ceramic objects joined by a metal rod: a human head with an assortment of items balanced on top and a turtle serving the same purpose, acting as a base for a vertical pile of assorted objects.
"The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States" is on view at the Columbia Museum of Art until Jan. 17.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, call (803) 799-2810 or visit the museum online at www.columbiamuseum.org.
A Carolina Trustee Professor, Dr. Mack holds the G.L. Toole Chair at USC Aiken.