Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will receive 50 works of contemporary art through a program established by the National Gallery of Art, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The program, "The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States," is distributing 2,500 pieces of primarily Minimalism and Conceptual art in portions of 50 works to one museum in each state. Ten museums received their gifts through the "50 x 50" program in the spring; 20 more were announced Friday, and the final 20 will be announced in 2009.

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For a list of the museums selected so far, visit nga.gov.

Though far from wealthy -- Dorothy Vogel was a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library and Herbert Vogel worked for the United States Postal Service -- the couple devoted themselves fanatically to purchasing works of Minimalism and Conceptual art that few collectors would risk purchasing in the 1960s and '70s.

Because of their modest means, the Vogels collected mainly small works, like drawings and prints, though their collection includes paintings, sculptures and photographs. Eventually, the Vogels accumulated more than 4,000 pieces.

The National Gallery of Art has worked closely with the Vogels since the institution acquired part of the collection in 1991. In that year of generous donations and acquisitions for the museum's 50th anniversary, the Vogel collection was considered the most significant, according to news stories at the time.

While museums are reluctant to discuss the value of works or whole collections in other than cultural terms, Brooks chief curator Marina Pacini noted that the gift is important because "few of the artists included, such as Lynda Benglis and Richard Tuttle, are represented in the Brooks collection. We're delighted with the selection of artworks that will be entering the permanent collection."

Other artists included in the gift to Brooks are Thornton Willis, Pat Steir, Lucio Pozzi, Jill Levine, Cheryl Laemmle, Charles Clough, Martin Johnson and Will Barnet.

-- Fredric Koeppel: 529-2376