I’m so excited to see a new documentary film that’s currently playing in NYC and is being screened across the U.S. over the summer.  “Herb & Dorothy” tells the story of a blue-collar couple who have shared the passion of collecting modern art since the 1960s.  Not only were they visionaries, collecting works by the likes of Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Chuck Close and Christo before they were recognized names in the art world, they truly care for the artists themselves and became friends and supporters of many of today’s top-selling artists.  They’ve amassed over two thousand pieces in the past forty to fifty years, completely filling their one bedroom Manhattan apartment, and have never sold a single piece even though they clearly could have made a killing in the market and upgraded their lifestyles considerably.  Their collection was just donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.– and they’ve started afresh filling up their apartment again with new artwork.

Check out the movie’s website here for information about the screening schedule, the awards it has won so far, reviews, etc.

Amazing!  If only my grandma collected art instead of Precious Moments figurines.

For those art collectors (like myself) who can’t swing the six/seven/eight figure works that we dream of owning, I recommend you check out the fine arts catalogs posted today by Rago auction house for their mid-May sales.  Both the 19th/20th century sale of American and European work as well as the post-war and contemporary sale have some great, interesting work, including pieces by “name” artists, at low price points (relatively speaking).  For example, Sol LeWitt‘s Irregular Grid pictured above has an estimate of $3-5 grand.  Quite a few lots have low-end estimates below a thousand.  You can see the catalogs by clicking here.

I’ve personally had positive experiences both buying from and consigning with Rago– something I’ve learned not to expect from all auction companies.

Happy browsing!