He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian. With their modest means, the couple managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history. Meet Herb and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and disciplines and defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector.
It's impossible to leave this movie believing that the Vogels are weirdos or naifs. A wealth of artists and curators testify to their strong eye, unwavering enthusiasm, and clear judgment.
– Wesley Morris,
Boston Globe,
9 Jul 2009
fresh:
Herb and Dorothy, a documentary by Megumi Sasaki, grows on you just as its subjects do.
– Joe Morgenstern,
Wall Street Journal,
9 Jul 2009
fresh:
If Ripley's Believe It or Not! were still around, Herb and Dorothy Vogel would surely be in it for amassing a world-class art collection on the most ordinary of working-class salaries.
– Kenneth Turan,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jul 2009
fresh:
Sasaki balances her subjects' yarns with insights into the cultural moment that shaped them and vice-versa, in particular the shift from abstract expressionism to the sparer gestures of minimalist and conceptual art.
– Lisa Kennedy,
Denver Post,
17 Jul 2009
fresh:
The movie gives us an eyeful, but the unexamined irony is that the nice old couple can't sell the rest of us on why it's good.