Skip to content
Louisiana-born Lynda Benglis painted ‘Gestural Study' in 2005 in egg tempera on off-white wove paper. Photo by Lyle Peterzell, courtesy Speed Art Museum.

Speed Art Museum unveils 50 contemporary works

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Louisiana-born Lynda Benglis painted ‘Gestural Study' in 2005 in egg tempera on off-white wove paper. Photo by Lyle Peterzell, courtesy Speed Art Museum.
Louisiana-born Lynda Benglis painted ‘Gestural Study’ in 2005 in egg tempera on off-white wove paper. Photo by Lyle Peterzell, courtesy Speed Art Museum.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Speed Art Museum is a recipient of 50 works of art from one of the most impressive contemporary collections ever assembled. In celebration of this gift, the museum is proud to present the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States on view through May 17.

Having built one of the largest collections of contemporary art in America, New Yorkers Dorothy and Herbert Vogel gave more than 1,000 artworks to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. However, with 2,500 pieces remaining the couple, assisted by the National Gallery, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, launched a national gift program to distribute works of art from their collection to every state in the union.

Entitled the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, this program has honored the Commonwealth of Kentucky by selecting the Speed Art Museum as the recipient of 50 works by contemporary artists with a strong emphasis on Minimalism and Conceptual Art, including works by artists Robert Barry, Lynda Benglis, Peter Halley, Robert Mangold, Richard Nonas, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Pat Steir and Richard Tuttle.

Dorothy Vogel was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library, Herbert was a postal worker and together they built an exceptional collection of contemporary art. Setting their passion for collecting above personal comfort, the couple used Dorothy’s salary to cover the expenses of daily life and devoted Herbert’s to the acquisition of contemporary art.  

When they first began collecting in the early 1960s, they lived in a small rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y. Because of the limited space and funds available to them the Vogels were drawn to small works of art, especially drawings. They believe drawings reveal the “artist’s hand” and the initial form of an idea. This emphasis on drawings, combined with the varied character and breadth of the collection, adds to the unique and intimate nature to the art they assembled.

New York artist Pat Steir painted ‘Red Cascade' in 1996-97. The oil on canvas measures 30 1/8 inches square. Photo by Lyle Peterzell, courtesy Speed Art Museum.
New York artist Pat Steir painted ‘Red Cascade’ in 1996-97. The oil on canvas measures 30 1/8 inches square. Photo by Lyle Peterzell, courtesy Speed Art Museum.

On the purpose of this ambitious gift program, Dorothy Vogel said, “We hope this will be a truly national program, and that it makes 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.”

In conjunction with the exhibition opening, the Speed will host two special screenings of the documentary film Herb and Dorothy on Sunday, March 22, at 2:30 p.m. and Thursday, March 26, at 6 p.m. in the Speed Auditorium.  Admission is free for Speed Museum and Louisville Film Society members and $5 for general admission.  A special curator-artist roundtable discussion led by Suzanne Weaver, Speed’s curator of Contemporary Art, will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, preceding the film screening.

The Speed Art Museum is located at 2035 S. Third St. in Louisville.  For general information, call 502-634-2700 or visit www.speedmuseum.org.