Albright-Knox Art Gallery Chosen to Receive Gift of Fifty Works From

as an educational and cultural institution in your region, the Vogels have chosen your institution to represent New York. d In making the announcement, Mr.<br><br> Grachos said, cWe are indeed honored to have been selected to represent the state of New York. Considering that the best-known aspect of the Vogels 9 collecting focus is minimal and conceptual art, this remarkable gift fits perfectly into our collection of contemporary art, and we thank the Vogels for sharing a portion of their amazing collection with us. d Artists whose works are being donated to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery include Richard Artschwager (born 1923), Lynda Benglis (born 1941), Charles Clough (born 1951), Larry Poons (born 1937) and Richard Tuttle (born 1941). Grachos added, cMany of these artists are already well represented in our Permanent Collection, and in this way the gift adds depth to the Collection.<br><br> Other artists such as Mark Kostabi (born 1960) and Edda Renouf (born 1943) are welcome new additions to our holdings. d The Vogels began amassing this extraordinary Collection of some 4,000 works of art in the early 1960s in New York. Although of modest means 3 Herbert Vogel, 85, spent most of his working life as an employee of the United States Postal Service while Dorothy Vogel, 73, was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library 3 the couple used Dorothy 9s salary to cover the expenses of daily life while devoting Herbert 9s salary to the acquisition of contemporary art. They focused their collecting on younger artists, especially on minimal and conceptual art, and preferred to buy pieces they could take home with them on the subway.<br><br> Many of the artworks in the Collection are drawings, which attracted the Vogels not only because they were more affordable and often smaller in scale, but also more immediate. As Mrs. Vogel has explained, cThe artist 9s hand is in them, the ideas are there. d -- more -- The Vogels began donating their Collection to the National Gallery of Art in 1991.<br><br> Since that time, the National Gallery has acquired more than 1,000 of these works. However, as time passed, it became increasingly apparent to the Vogels that their holdings were so vast that their agreement with the National Gallery would be best accomplished by allowing other museums in the United States to share the Collection. Thus was born the idea to distribute fifty works representative of the Vogel Collection to one museum in each of the fifty states.<br><br> The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States was launched in April 2008, when the first gifts were made to ten institutions. Twenty institutions, including the Albright-Knox, will receive gifts by the end of 2008, and the remaining twenty in 2009. (The complete list of museums is available at www.nga.gov/press/2008/vogel50x50_a.shtm and is included in these press materials) .<br><br> This is the third major gift to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in the past several years, joining The Natalie and Irving Forman Collection, the largest single gift in the Gallery 9s history, and the seventy-one works from the Panza Collection that were acquired in July. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery continues to be recognized both nationally and internationally as a place for donors to leave great collections of modern and contemporary art to be enjoyed by future generations. The National Endowment for the Arts is funding the publication of a book, The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States .<br><br> The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is providing funds for packing and shipping the works of art to the fifty institutions and for the development of a Web site to serve as both an information center and exhibition area for this project. The Vogels have another connection to Buffalo and Western New York: Dorothy Vogel was born in Elmira, and she attended the University at Buffalo and Syracuse University, where she received her BA. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery houses what has been recognized as one of the world 9s leading collections of modern and contemporary art.<br><br> With more than 6,500 works in its collection, an active acquisitions program, stimulating exhibitions, and audience-centered public programs, the Albright-Knox continues to fulfill its mission to acquire, exhibit, and preserve modern and contemporary art in an enriching, dynamic, and vibrant environment. Hours: Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.<br><br> to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission: $10 adults; $8 seniors and students; free, children 13 and under.<br><br> On Fridays from 3 to 10 p.m., cGusto at the Gallery, d the museum is open free of charge, featuring a variety of programs and events for visitors of al l ages. For additional information see www.albrightknox.org . # # # FOR RELEASE: CONTACT: Maria Morreale October 10, 2008 Marketing Director 716.270.8229 mmorreale@albrightknox.org The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection The Vogels and Their Collection The Vogel Collection has been characterized as unique among collections of contemporary art, both for the character and breadth of the objects and for the individuals who created it.<br><br> Herbert Vogel, 85, spent most of his working life as an employee of the United States Postal Service, and Dorothy Vogel, 73, was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. By setting their collecting priorities above those of personal comfort, the couple used Dorothy 9s salary to cover the expenses of daily life and devoted Herbert 9s salary to the acquisition of contemporary art. As patrons with modest means, they have collected objects small in scale, primarily drawings; but they have also acquired paintings and sculpture, as well as a smaller number of prints, photographs, and illustrated books.<br><br> With the exception of the collection formed by their friend, the artist Sol LeWitt, no other known private collection of similar work in Europe or America rivals the range, complexity, and quality of the art the Vogels acquired. As the first collectors to buy work by many artists who were then unknown to a wide audience, the Vogels offered encouragement at the beginning of the careers of several figures who went on to achieve considerable acclaim. Owing to these artists 9 continuing close relationship with the collectors, many works of art collected by the Vogels were gifts, marking special occasions 4such as Dorothy and Herbert 9s birthdays and wedding anniversary 4and often personally inscribed.<br><br> In this sense the Vogels 9 collection is a keen reflection of their friendships with artists. Artists 9 use of drawing as a primary medium has expanded during the years in which the Vogel Collection has been formed, and interest in drawings on the part of contemporary collectors has expanded as well. However, when the Vogels began collecting in the early 1960s, their focus on drawing was an unusual one, suggesting another aspect of their prescience.<br><br> Many drawings in the collection represent an artist 9s initial form of an idea, and others act as plans to be followed by a collaborator in the making of a work of art. This emphasis on drawings adds to the unique and intimate nature of the Vogel Collection, making their gifts an important educational tool for museums. Another educational focus of the Vogels since 1980 has been their ongoing donation of artist-related records to the Archives of American Art, Washington, D.C.<br><br> cWe hope this will be a truly national program, and that it will make the work of the many artists we admire familiar to a wider audience. We also hope our gifts will enable museums throughout the country to represent a significant range of contemporary art, d said Dorothy Vogel on behalf of the couple. Inspired by the Kress Foundation 9s placement of old master paintings throughout the United States in the middle of the last century, the Vogels hope that their project will, as a parallel effort, enhance knowledge of the art of our time.<br><br> -- more -- The Vogel Collection and the National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art has worked closely with Dorothy and Herbert Vogel since 1991, when the first of several groups of works from their holdings entered the National Gallery 9s permanent collection. cThe generosity of Dorothy and Herb has enhanced our collection of contemporary art immeasurably, d said Earl A. Powell III, National Gallery director.<br><br> In 1992, the National Gallery announced the acquisition of a portion of the Vogel Collection through partial purchase and gift from the Vogels. Since forming its association with the National Gallery, the Vogel Collection has grown to include some 4,000 works, primarily by artists working in the United States. As such, it is far more than can appropriately be placed in a single institution.<br><br> Currently, 832 accessioned works from the Vogel Collection are in the National Gallery 9s holdings, and another 268 are promised gifts. Works collected by the Vogels have appeared in numerous exhibitions throughout the world, including two major exhibitions the National Gallery organized and presented that were selected solely from their collection. In 1994, From Minimal to Conceptual Art: Works from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection was on view at the National Gallery of Art, and in 2002, Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection was on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.<br><br> The Project Book The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States , which is being co- published by the NEA and the National Gallery of Art, with funds from the NEA, will feature introductory remarks by Earl A. Powell III; Dana Gioia, chairman of the NEA; and Anne-Imelda M. Radice, director of the IMLS.<br><br> It will also include a note by Dorothy Vogel and an essay by Ruth Fine on the history of the Vogel Collection, the Vogels 9 relationship with the National Gallery, and the development of the national gifts program. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this ambitious project. The generosity shown by the Vogels in their eagerness to share their marvelous collection with the entire nation is truly inspiring.<br><br> Part of the NEA 9s mission is to ensure greater access to the arts. What better way to promote that mission than through Fifty Works for Fifty States ?" said chairman Gioia. The volume will also reproduce four works from each museum 9s gift, including at least one by each of the artists represented in the project.<br><br> Catalogue information for illustrated works, compiled by Mary Lee Corlett, research associate in the National Gallery 9s department of special projects in modern art, will be published along with a list of the artists included in the individual institutional donations. The book will be available for use as an exhibition catalogue at each of the participating venues and as a way for institutions to make the public aware of the artists represented. The Project Web Site In addition to providing funds for packing and shipping the works of art, under the supervision of the National Gallery, to the fifty institutions, the IMLS is funding the creation of a Web site, Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States , which will serve as both an information center and exhibition area for this project.<br><br> The interactive Web destination, which will be developed under the aegis of the National Gallery of Art, will enable each museum to create a section about its own Vogel Collection donation. -- more -- This Web site will eventually enable museums with a limited Web staff to reach the widest audience possible. Museums with strong Web programs will be able to create features that link to the Vogel project Web site.<br><br> A preview of the Web site is available at http://www.vogel50x50.org/ . cWith this generous gift, the Vogels are sharing their passion for art and artists that represent a significant period of art-making in the United States 4the last fifty years. IMLS is proud to help bring this extraordinary collection to people in every state and create a Web-based learning resource for all Americans, d said Anne-Imelda M.<br><br> Radice, director of the IMLS. The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States The fifty museums listed alphabetically by state: Alabama The Birmingham Museum of Art Alaska The University of Alaska, Fairbanks Arizona The Phoenix Art Museum Arkansas The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock California The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Colorado The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Connecticut Yale University Art Museum, New Haven Delaware The Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington Florida The Miami Art Museum Georgia The High Museum of Art, Atlanta Hawaii The Honolulu Academy of Arts Idaho The Boise Art Museum Illinois The University Museum, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Indiana The Indianapolis Museum of Art Iowa The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Kansas The Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence Kentucky The Speed Art Museum, Louisville Louisiana The New Orleans Museum of Art Maine The Portland Museum of Art Maryland The Academy Art Museum, Easton Massachusetts Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge Michigan The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor Minnesota The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis Mississippi The Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson Missouri The St.<br><br> Louis Art Museum Montana The Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings Nebraska The Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha Nevada The Las Vegas Art Museum New Hampshire The Hood Museum of Art, Hanover New Jersey The Montclair Art Museum New Mexico The New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe New York The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo North Carolina The Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro North Dakota The Plains Art Museum, Fargo -- more -- Ohio The Akron Art Museum Oklahoma The Oklahoma City Museum of Art Oregon The Portland Art Museum Pennsylvania The Edna S. Tuttleman Museum, Philadelphia Rhode Island Museum of Art, Providence South Carolina The Columbia Museum of Art South Dakota The South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings Tennessee The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Texas The Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin Utah The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan Vermont The Robert Hull Fleming Museum of Art, Burlington Virginia The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond Washington The Seattle Art Museum West Virginia The Huntington Museum of Art Wisconsin The Milwaukee Art Museum Wyoming The University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie The Albright-Knox Art Gallery houses what has been recognized as one of the world 9s leading collections of modern and contemporary art. With more than 6,500 works in its collection, an active acquisitions program, stimulating exhibitions, and audience-centered public programs, the Albright-Knox continues to fulfill its mission to acquire, exhibit, and preserve modern and contemporary art in an enriching, dynamic, and vibrant environment.<br><br> Hours: Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.<br><br> to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission: $10 adults; $8 seniors and students; free, children 13 and under. On Fridays from 3 to 10 p.m., cGusto at the Gallery, d the museum is open free of charge, featuring a variety of programs and events for visitors of al l ages.<br><br> For additional information see www.albrightknox.org . # # #

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