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Museums on Film: Herb and Dorothy 50x50

Wed, 04/30/2014 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

In 2008, legendary art collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel made an announcement that stunned the art world. Known and loved as a retired postal worker (Herb) and librarian (Dorothy) who built a world-class art collection on their humble salaries, the Vogels launched a national gift project with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. that would constitute one of the largest gifts in the history of American art: to give a total of 2,500 artworks to museums in all fifty states.

A ‘road movie’ through the art world, the film takes the audience on a journey across the US to eleven recipient museums, from Honolulu to Fargo, meeting curators and visitors, and introduces famous (often controversial) artists, as well as unknown favorites of Herb and Dorothy.

Developed as the follow-up film to Megumi Sasaki’s award-winning documentary Herb & Dorothy (2008) that moved millions of art-lovers worldwide, Herb and Dorothy 50x50 captures the last chapter of the Vogel’s extraordinary life and their gift to the nation, raising various questions on art, and what it takes to support art in today’s society.

Directed by Megumi Sasaki (USA, 2013, 86 minutes)

The “Museums of Film” series exposes different aspects of contemporary museum theory and practice.  This series was organized in conjunction with Phaedra Livingstone’s Museum Theory course and funded by a JSMA Academic Support Grant.

Join us for upcoming programs in this series:

  • Wednesday, May 7, 6 p.m., Objects and Memory
  • Wednesday, May 28, 6 p.m., The New Rijksmuseum
  • Wednesday, June 4, 6 p.m., The Art of the Steal