“Most of us go through the world, never seeing anything. Then you meet somebody like Herb and Dorothy, who have eyes that see.” —Richard Tuttle, artist

My father is an indie film connoisseur. If you have ever looked at the cover of an offbeat, home videoed movie and thought, “What the…?” you can be sure he has watched it. His flick taste is how I came across the incredible story of Herb and Dorothy Vogel. Possessing a seven million dollar art collection, Mr. and Mrs. Vogel live in a modest one-bedroom apartment in New York City. Herbert, 89-years-old and the son of a Russian garment worker from Harlem, never completed high school and worked as a clerk for the United States Postal Service until he retired in 1980. 76-year-old Dorothy, daughter of a New York stationary merchant, obtained a masters degree and worked as a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. So how did these two seemingly unassuming individuals amass a multimillion-dollar art collection?

When they married in 1962, their passion for art was quickly ignited. Herb began taking classes at the Institute of Fine Arts during the day, while working the midnight shift at the post office. Shortly after, Dorothy began taking painting and drawing classes, as well, until the two realized they were only “wannabe artists” and gave up their classes to pursue collecting art. Living solely off Dorothy’s meager salary, the couple decided to dedicated Herb’s limited income to acquiring art pieces. The work they collected was “undiscovered or unappreciated in the early 1960s, primarily Minimalist and Conceptual art by such visionaries as Robert and Sylvia Mangold, Donald Judd, Richard Tuttle, Sol LeWitt, Christo, Lynda Benglis and many other artists… The work was mostly non-decorative, evoking descriptors like ‘daring’ and ‘rigorous.’” Herb and Dorothy only bought pieces that were inexpensive and practical. If they could not fit it on the subway or in a taxi home, they simply did not buy it!

By the early 1990s, the Vogel’s apartment was bursting with American art. Art hung on every inch of wall space and was piled in stacks reaching the ceilings of the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. With over 4,782 pieces, Dorothy recalls, “Not even a toothpick could be squeezed into the apartment.” The couple could barely move around in their home. Something had to be done.

When the couple revealed their enormous collection to the art world, every major museum sought to buy their multimillion-dollar American art collection. The Vogels declined all offers and, in 1992, donated their collection to the National Gallery of Art. Five full-sized moving trucks were required to transfer the entire collection.

In 2008, filmmaker Megumi Sasaki produced the documentary Herb and Dorothy, recording and revealing their story to public. Today Herb and Dorothy live in the same one-bedroom apartment, still in love with each other and art.