Transitions: Marriage

In January 1962, Dorothy Faye Hoffman married Herbert Vogel, 13 years her senior. The small synagogue ceremony took place in Dorothy’s hometown of Elmira, New York, where her father was a stationery merchant and her mother, by then deceased, had been a homemaker. The bride had no particular interest in the visual arts, but rather was focused on classical music and theater. By contrast, Herbert was deeply immersed in painting and drawing at the time of their marriage. According to Dorothy, “art is Herby’s only interest, except for animals.” He immediately set out to share these twin passions with his new wife, who was eager to learn more about art and amenable to the cats, tropical fish, and turtles that came to be a constant fixture in their home.

The bride had no particular interest in the visual arts, but rather was focused on classical music and theater. By contrast, Herbert was deeply immersed in painting and drawing at the time of their marriage. According to Dorothy, “art is Herby’s only interest, except for animals.”

Herbert Vogel (Herb to most of his friends) grew up in Harlem. His father was a tailor, his mother a homemaker. As an adult, Herb clerked for the US Postal Service and was assigned to several different Manhattan branches until he retired in 1979. Starting in the mid-1950s, he also took classes in art history at the New York University (NYU) Institute of Fine Arts. Among his teachers were Max Friedländer, Robert Goldwater, and Erwin Panofsky. These brilliant scholars provided a historical framework for the art-based adventure he and Dorothy began during their honeymoon in Washington DC, where the National Gallery of Art became the setting for her introduction to old master paintings.