Peggy Guggenheim (August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector. Born Marguerite Guggenheim to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. ... For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ... Solomon Robert Guggenheim (1861 – 1949) was a American art collector and philanthropist. ... The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1937 by philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and artist Hilla Rebay. ...

Inheritance, involvement in the art/writing community

At the age of 21 Peggy Guggenheim inherited a small fortune, but as the less wealthy branch of the family, it was an amount far less than the vast wealth of her father's siblings.

She was a clerk in an avant-garde bookstore when she first became enamored with the members of the bohemian artistic community. In 1920 she went to live in Paris, France. Once there, she became friendly with avant-garde writers and artists, many of whom were living in poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of the city. Man Ray photographed her, [1] and he along with Constantin Brancusi and Marcel Duchamp were all friends whose art she promoted. The term bohemian was first used in the nineteenth century to describe the non-traditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... The Montparnasse Tower, which at 209m was the tallest building in Western Europe when it was built. ... Man Ray, photographed at Gaite-Montparnasse exhibition in Paris by Carl Van Vechten on June 16, 1934 Man Ray (August 27, 1890–November 18, 1976) was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. ... Constantin Brancusi Constantin Brancusi (February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957, originally Constantin Brâncuşi IPA: ), was a Romanian sculptor, born in Hobiţa, Gorj, near Târgu Jiu, where he placed his sculptural ensemble with The Table of Silence, The Gate of the Kiss and The Endless Column. ... Marcel Duchamp (pronounced ) (July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968) was a French artist (he became an American citizen in 1955) whose work and ideas had considerable influence on the development of post-World War II Western art, and whose advice to modern art collectors helped shape the tastes of the...

She became close friends with writer Natalie Barney and artist Romaine Brooks, and was a regular at Barney's stylish salon. She met Djuna Barnes during this time, and in time became her friend and patron. Barnes was staying at Guggenheim's country manor 'Hayford Hall' when she wrote her best known novel, Nightwood. Nathalie Barney (1876-1972), also known as Natalie Barney, was a American heiress who became well known as the mistress of a literary salon in France. ... Romaine Brooks (May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970), born Beatrice Romaine Goddard, was an American painter who specialized in portraiture and used a subdued palette dominated by the color gray. ... A Salon of Ladies by Abraham Bosse A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, often consciously following Horaces definition of the... Djuna Barnes, ca. ...

Collecting, before World War II

In 1938 she opened a gallery for modern art in London featuring Jean Cocteau and began to collect works of art. After the outbreak of World War II, she purchased as much abstract and Surrealist art as possible. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Surrealism is an artistic movement and an aesthetic philosophy that aims for the liberation of the mind by emphasizing the critical and imaginative powers of the subconscious. ...

Peggy Guggenheim opened the gallery Guggenheim Jeune in London in January 1938 — the name being quite ingeniously chosen to associate the epitome of a gallery, the French Bernheim Jeune, with the name of her own well known family. The gallery on 30 Cork Street, next to Roland Penrose's and E. L. T. Mesens' show-case for the Surrealist movement, the London Gallery, proved to be quite successful, thanks to many friends who gave advice and who helped run the gallery. Marcel Duchamp, whom she had known since the early 1920s, when she lived in Paris with her first husband Laurence Vail, was taken on to introduce Peggy Guggenheim to the art world; it was through him that she met many artists during her frequent visits to Paris. He taught her about contemporary art and styles, and he conceived several of the exhibitions held at Guggenheim Jeune. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Cork Street is a street in the West End of London, England with a number of small commercial art galleries. ... Sir Roland Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984)1 was an English artist, historian and poet. ... ELT Mesens (Edouard Léon Théodore) (1903 – 1971) was a Belgian artist and writer associated with the Surrealist movement. ... Marcel Duchamp (pronounced ) (July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968) was a French artist (he became an American citizen in 1955) whose work and ideas had considerable influence on the development of post-World War II Western art, and whose advice to modern art collectors helped shape the tastes of the... This article is about the capital of France. ...

The gallery's opening show was dedicated to Jean Cocteau. It was followed by exhibitions on Wassily Kandinsky (his first one-man-show in England), Yves Tanguy and several other well known and some lesser-known artists. Peggy Guggenheim also held group exhibitions of sculpture and collage, with the participation of the now classic moderns Antoine Pevsner, Henry Moore, Henri Laurens, Alexander Calder, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Constantin Brancusi, Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, George Braque and Kurt Schwitters. She also greatly admired the work of John Tunnard (1900-1971) and is credited with his discovery in mainstream international modernism. Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker. ... Wassily Kandinsky (Russian: Василий Кандинский, first name pronounced as [vassi:li]) (December 16 [O.S. December 4] 1866 – December 13, 1944) was a Russian painter, printmaker and art theorist. ... Indefinite Divisibility 1942 Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 – January 15, 1955) was a surrealist painter. ... Antoine Pevsner (1886-1962) was a Russian sculptor and the brother of Naum Gabo. ... Reclining Figure (1951) outside the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, is characteristic of Moores sculptures, with an abstract female figure intercut with voids. ... Henri Laurens (1885-1954), was a French sculptor and illustrator. ... For other persons named Alexander Calder, see Alexander Calder (disambiguation). ... Raymond Duchamp-Villon (November 5, 1876 - October 9, 1918) was a French sculptor. ... Constantin Brancusi Constantin Brancusi (February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957, originally Constantin Brâncuşi IPA: ), was a Romanian sculptor, born in Hobiţa, Gorj, near Târgu Jiu, where he placed his sculptural ensemble with The Table of Silence, The Gate of the Kiss and The Endless Column. ... Hans (Jean) Arp (September 16, 1886 – June 7, 1966) was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. ... Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ... “Picasso” redirects here. ... ] Categories: People stubs | Modern artists | French painters | French sculptors | 1882 births | 1963 deaths | Cubism ... Kurt Schwitters (June 20, 1887 - January 8, 1948) was a German painter who was born in Hannover, Germany. ... John Tunnard (May 7, 1900 - December 18, 1971), was a British artist and designer. ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ...

Plans for a museum

When Peggy Guggenheim realised that her gallery, although well received had made an actual loss of £600 in the first year, she decided to take up this idea and spend the money in a much more practical way. A museum for contemporary arts was exactly the institution she could see herself supporting. Most certainly on her mind were also the adventures of her uncle, Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York, who, with the help and encouragement of Hilla Rebay, had created the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation two years earlier. The main aim of this foundation had been to collect and to further the production of abstract art, resulting in the opening of the Museum of Non-objective Painting (from 1952: The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum) earlier in 1939 on East 54th Street in Manhattan. Peggy Guggenheim closed Guggenheim Jeune with a farewell party on 22 June 1939, at which colour portrait photographs by Gisèle Freund were projected on the walls. She started making plans for a Museum of Modern Art in London together with the English art historian and art critic Herbert Read. She set aside $40,000 for the museum's running costs. However, these funds were soon overstretched with the organisers' ambitions. Solomon Robert Guggenheim (1861 – 1949) was a American art collector and philanthropist. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Hildegard Anna Augusta Elizabeth Freiin Rebay von Ehrenwiesen, Baroness Hilla von Rebay, or simply Hilla Rebay, was one of the few female abstract painters in the beginning of the 20th century. ... Kazimir Malevich, Black square 1915 Abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses color and form in a non-representational way. ... Gisèle Freund (November 19, 1908 or 1912 - March 31, 2000) was a German-born French photographer, famous for her documentary photographs and portraits of writers and artists. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Art history usually refers to the history of the visual arts. ... An art critic is normally a person who have a speciality in giving reviews mainly of the types of fine art you will find on display. Typically the art critic will go to an art exhibition where works of art are displayed in the traditional way in localities especially made... Read in 1958. ...

In August 1939, Peggy Guggenheim left for Paris to negotiate loans for the first exhibition. In her luggage was a list drawn up by Herbert Read for this occasion. Shortly after her departure the Second World War broke out, and the events following 1 September 1939 made her abandon the scheme, willingly or not.

She then "decided now to buy paintings by all the painters who were on Herbert Read's list. Having plenty of time and all the museum's funds at my disposal, I put myself on a regime to buy one picture a day."^[1] When finished, she had acquired ten Picassos, forty Ernsts, eight Mirós, four Magrittes, three Man Rays, three Dalís, one Klee, and one Chagall among others. In the meantime, she had also made new plans and in April 1940 had rented a large space in the Place Vendôme as a new home for her museum. “Picasso” redirects here. ... Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ... Joan Miró i Ferrà (April 20, 1893 – December 25, 1983) was a Spanish (Catalan) painter, sculptor, and ceramist born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain to the family of a Goldsmith and Watchmaker. ... This is not a pipe. ... Man Ray, photographed at Gaite-Montparnasse exhibition in Paris by Carl Van Vechten on June 16, 1934 Man Ray (August 27, 1890–November 18, 1976) was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. ... Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Pubol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), was a Spanish surrealist painter born in Figueres, Catalonia (Spain). ... “Klee” redirects here. ... Marc Chagall as photographed in 1941 by Carl Van Vechten. ...

A few days before the Germans reached Paris, Peggy Guggenheim had to abandon her plans for a Paris museum, and fled to the south of France, from where, after months of safeguarding her collection and artist friends, she left Europe for New York in the summer of 1941. There, in the following year, she opened a new gallery which actually was in part a museum. It was called The Art of This Century Gallery. Two of the three galleries were dedicated to Cubism and Surrealism, with only the third, the front room, being a commercial gallery. Peggy Guggenheim opened The Art of This Century Gallery at 30 W. 57th Street in New York City in October-November 1942. ...

As a result of her interest in new artists she was instrumental in advancing the careers of many important modern artists, including the American painter Jackson Pollock, the sound poet Ada Verdun Howell and the German painter Max Ernst, whom she married in 1942. Controversy swirls over the alleged sale of No. ... Ada Verdun Howell (19 July 1902–1981) was an Australian author and poet. ... Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ...

The collection, after World War II

Following World War II — and her 1946 divorce from Max Ernst — she closed The Art of This Century Gallery in 1947, and returned to Europe; deciding to live in Venice, Italy. In 1948, she was invited to exhibit her collection in the disused Greek Pavilion of the Venice Biennale and eventually established herself in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Peggy Guggenheim opened The Art of This Century Gallery at 30 W. 57th Street in New York City in October-November 1942. ... Venice (Venetian: Venezsia, Italian: Venezia, Latin: Venetia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... Detail of exhibition. ...

Her collection became one of the few European collections of modern art to promote a significant amount of works by Americans.

By the early 1960s, Peggy Guggenheim had stopped collecting art and began to concentrate on presenting what she already owned. She loaned out her collection to museums throughout Europe and America, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, which was named after her uncle. Eventually, she decided to donate her large home and her collection to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation on her death.^[2] For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... World map showing the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere historically considered to consist of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... The front of the Guggenheim Museum from 5th Avenue This article refers to the Guggenheim Museum in the upper east side of Manhattan (New York). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Grave of Peggy Guggenheim, next to a plaque remembering her dogs

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of the most important museums in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. Pieces in her collection embrace Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Image File history File links Pguggenheimgrave. ... Image File history File links Pguggenheimgrave. ... The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is a small museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. ... Le guitariste by Pablo Picasso, 1910 Portrait of Picasso, 1912, oil on canvas by Juan Gris Woman with a guitar by Georges Braque, 1913 Still Life with Fruit Dish and Mandolin, 1919, oil on canvas by Juan Gris Cubist villa in Prague, Czech Republic Cubist House of the Black Madonna... Max Ernst. ... Jackson Pollock, No. ...

Peggy Guggenheim lived in Venice until her death in Padua, Italy. She is interred in the garden (later: Nasher Sculpture Garden) of her home, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni (Inside the Peggy Guggenheim Museum), next to her beloved dogs. Padua, Italy, (Italian: IPA: , Latin: Patavium, Venetian: ) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, the economic and communications hub of the region. ...

Private life / gossip

Starting in late December 1937, she and Samuel Beckett had a brief affair.^[3] Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish dramatist, novelist and poet. ...

Peggy Guggenheim's first marriage was to Laurence Vail, a Dada sculptor and writer with whom she had two children, Sindbad and Pegeen. They divorced following his affair with writer Kay Boyle, whom he later married. Cover of the first edition of the publication, Dada. ... Kay Boyle Kay Boyle, born February 19, 1902 in St. ...

She married her second husband, Max Ernst, in 1942 and divorced him in 1946. Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ...

Her autobiography claims many affairs with artists, as well as many artists and others claim affairs with her — even fictional, for example William Boyd's Nat Tate. ^[4]

Portrayals

Peggy Guggenheim is portrayed by Amy Madigan in the movie Pollock (2000), directed by Ed Harris, based on the life of Jackson Pollock. Amy Madigan (born 11 September 1950) is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams. ... Pollock is a 2000 biographical film which tells the life story of artist Jackson Pollock. ... Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, known for his performances in The Rock, The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, Pollock, and The Truman Show, among many others. ... Controversy swirls over the alleged sale of No. ...

A play by Lanie Robertson based on Peggy Guggenheim's life, Woman Before a Glass, opened at the Promenade Theatre on Broadway, New York on March 10th, 2005. It is a one woman show, which focuses on Peggy Guggenheim's later life. Mercedes Ruehl plays Peggy Guggenheim. Ruehl received an Obie award for her performance. Mercedes Ruehl (born February 28, 1948) is an Academy Award-winning United States theater and film actress. ... The Obie Awards, short for Off-Broadway Theater Awards, are annual awards bestowed by the newspaper The Village Voice on theater artists performing in New York City. ...

See also

• The Art of This Century Gallery
• Surrealism
• Abstract expressionism
• Max Ernst

Peggy Guggenheim opened The Art of This Century Gallery at 30 W. 57th Street in New York City in October-November 1942. ... Max Ernst. ... Jackson Pollock, No. ... Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ...

References