WASHINGTON (AP).- Herbert Vogel, an art collector who amassed over 5,000 works despite a modest income, has died at age 89.

Pieces from Vogel's collection have been distributed to museums throughout the nation. National Gallery of Art spokeswoman Deborah Ziska says Vogel died Sunday of natural causes in New York.

Vogel was among the earliest collectors who championed minimal and conceptual art in the 1960s. He married Dorothy Faye Hoffman in 1962 and inspired her to join him in the art world. They used his salary as a U.S. postal clerk to purchase art while living on what she earned as a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Earl Powell III is director of the National Gallery of Art. He says he will miss Vogel's astute eye and wry sense of humor.

The Vogels built one of the world’s finest contemporary art collections in their small Manhattan apartment, using Herb’s income to acquire more than 5,000 works over a span of 50 years.



Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.