Vocabulary Lesson 6 Passage

Directions: Read the following passage, inserting the appropriate vocabulary words in the blanks. Then answer the questions that follow the passage.

The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., was a gift to the nation from banking and industry (1)---- Andrew W. Mellon. Although some wealthy people are uncompromising (2) ----, such acts of (3) ---- are by no means unheard of among those who can afford them. Therefore, when visitors to the National Gallery see an exhibition of works from “The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection,” they could be excused for thinking that the Vogels are wealthy arts patrons. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Herbert Vogel, a stocky, (4) ---- man with a twinkle in his eye, was a postal clerk in New York City. His wife, Dorothy, was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. They married in 1962 and spent their honeymoon in Washington, D.C. Frequent visits to the National Gallery during their stay inspired them to try painting, an effort they soon abandoned. Instead, they became (5) ----- collectors of other people’s work. To do so, they lived frugally, using Dorothy’s salary to pay their living expenses, while everything Herbert earned was spent on acquiring works of art. Though neither came from a wealthy family, they had in common a love of art and considerable (6) ---- in selecting works from talented artists who were at the beginning of their careers. Many of these artists later became famous, with a corresponding increase in the market value of their work.

New York in the early sixties was an exciting place for artists. Op art, pop art, minimalism, conceptualism—these were just some of the (7) ---- movements that would soon take the art world by storm. Painters and sculptors would meet to (8) ---- their theories and argue with each other at the Cedar Bar in Greenwich Village. Herbert Vogel, who worked irregular hours at the post office, would often take the subway to lower Manhattan to join these (9) ---- gatherings. After sitting quietly, listening, and absorbing the ideas being bandied about by the artists, some of who had yet to sell a single work, he would return home to share his experiences with his wife.

As a result of these encounters, the Vogels became acquainted with a number of artists and began making their first purchases. It was a (10) ---- time to start a collection; works that would later sell for tens of thousands of dollars could be bought for mere hundreds or even less. Not that the Vogels would ever disclose what they paid for a particular piece—to put a cash value on any work of art is (11) ---- to them. They appreciate their pieces for their (12) ---- worth, not for what they would bring on the open market. In fact, the Vogels have never tried to cash in on their art collection by selling any of the works acquired over a period of thirty years.

The Vogels’ taste in art is (13) ----; they buy what they love, can afford, and have room for. This last consideration is important, for by 1992, their tiny apartment was crammed with more than two thousand paintings, drawings, and sculptures. It was then that the Vogels decided to give their treasures to the nation. They chose the National Gallery of Art as the recipient of their collection because it does not charge for admission and never sells any of its works of art—a practice common at other museums. Five large vans were needed to move the treasured objects to their new home in the nation’s capital. The Vogels (14) ---- whatever sadness they felt at the loss by reflecting on the living space they had gained and on the fact that they will continue to collect, with all future acquisitions going eventually to the National Gallery.

In his play Lady Windemere’s Fan, Oscar Wilde defines a cynic as someone “who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” The Vogels reverse this (15)---, for it can truly be said that, where art is concerned, they know the value of everything and the price of nothing.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences. If a questions does not contain a vocabulary word from this lesson s word list, use one in your answer. Use each word only once.

  1. How does the description of Herbert Vogel suggest that he would be a convivial companion?
  2. How might the Vogels respond to the Roman philosopher Seneca s epigram that "life is short but art is long"?
  3. How did the Vogels assuage their hunger for art?
  4. Why were the 1960s a propitious time for the Vogels to start collecting?
  5. What quality did the Vogels have that compensated for their lack of wealth?
  6. How do we know that collecting at became the Vogels main preoccupation?
  7. Why would running a gallery that sold art be an unlikely proposition for the Vogels?
  8. Why is the nation fortunate that the Vogels selected the National Gallery of Art as the recipient of their collection?
  9. What misconception might someone visiting the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection have about the couple?
  10. What, if any, was the focus of the Vogels art collection?
  11. Why would it be inaccurate to describe the Vogels as having a philistine attitude?