Vogel, Kress, and Building the Museum's Permanent Collection

Thursday, March 25, 6pm
Reception: 6:45pm

Ron Platt, Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary and Modern Art, and Jeannine O’Grody, Chief Curator and Curator of European Art, discuss philanthropy and its effect on the Museum’s permanent collection, as well as collecting strategies at the Museum. Platt will relate the remarkable story of New York couple Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, who assembled an important collection of contemporary art on a postal clerk’s salary and then gave it all away. Their donation plan was patterned after the Kress Foundation’s distribution of European Old Master art to American museums, including Birmingham's, between 1929-1961. O’Grody will discuss the legacy of Samuel H. Kress and the Kress Foundation, as well as the focused development of the Museum’s permanent collection across all curatorial departments.

A special Member Exhibition Reception follows at 6:45pm with hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, and a viewing of the Vogel and Kress Collections.