The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States
In 2008, the Harvard Art Museums were among the 50 recipients of a national gift program that distributed 2,500 works from Dorothy and Herbert Vogel’s personal collection of contemporary art to museums in all 50 states. The Vogel collection encompasses a broad array of works by conceptual and minimalist artists of the 1970s and ̓80s, including several artists who were not previously represented in the museums’ collections. This exhibition marks the first presentation of the couple’s entire gift to the museums. The works on display in the museums’ University Study Gallery reflect the depth and breadth of the couple’s collection and feature works by Robert Barry, Lynda Benglis, Pat Steir, and Richard Tuttle, and complement the works on view in the Collections Galleries. In addition to the works displayed in the University Study Gallery, prints and drawings by Richard Tuttle, Stephen Antonakos, James Bishop, and Daryl Trivieri are available in the museums’ Art Study Center on Level 4, where visitors are invited to experience the work in quiet contemplation, examining a portfolio in sequence as a collector might. These works are available for viewing on Mondays from 1 to 4pm, and by appointment.
Organized by Sarah Kianovsky, Curator of the Collection for the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Harvard Art Museums. The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States is 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 of Museum and Library Services. The exhibition is made possible by support from the José Soriano Fund. Modern and contemporary art programs at the Harvard Art Museums are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art.
A full checklist for The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States is available at the Art Study Center reception desk on Level 4. The checklist was prepared with the assistance of Andrew Talbot ’15 and Ritchey Howe ’17.
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Looking Ahead
Over the next 18 months, the Harvard Art Museums will present a series of special and temporary exhibitions and unveil a new commission, all showcasing modern and contemporary art and the unique role of the university teaching museum. From video and multimedia by Jesse Aron Green, to vibrant pop art by Corita Kent, to works by Indigenous artists of Australia—these and other upcoming exhibitions will invite visitors to view art in new and different ways.
A Couple of Collectors
Summary: With the opening of the exhibition The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States on May 23, 2015, the Harvard Art Museums will become the final venue to display art from the world-renowned Vogel Collection. Among the artists represented in the exhibition are Stephen Antonakos, Will Barnet, Lynda Benglis, Edda Renouf, and Pat Steir. Mini Summary: The story behind our new Vogel Collection exhibition is one of passion, friendship, expertise, and inspiration.
Center Pieces
Through August 3, 2015, the Harvard Art Museums are holding special open hours in the Art Study Center to view select works from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection, which were given to the museums as part of a national gift program. The Art Study Center viewings are meant to complement the related exhibition The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, on display in the University Study Gallery.