Peggy Guggenheim’s Influence on American Modern Art

Peggy Guggenheim was a popular art collector who lived in the early to mid 1900s. Although she was often associated with her family’s wealth, her art collection was a major historical significance in how modern art was accepted.

Guggenheim was born on August 26, 1898 in New York City. She worked as a clerk in a local bookstore during the World War I. She was exposed to the bohemian artist community during this time. She was so amazed by the visual artists and writers. She used her inheritance to move to Paris and focus on art.

The culture of Paris exposed her further to avant-garde artists and writers. She befriended many of these artists. Later, she decided to promote their works of art by opening a gallery in London in 1938. The gallery was named Guggenheim Jeune.

Before the World War II, she started filling her gallery. Later, she focused on reserving the artworks rather than selling them. She closed her gallery and started to focus on building London’s Museum of Modern Art. During the planning of the Museum, Guggenheim listed the artworks she would purchase to fill the museum with. However, the War broke so she abandoned her plans.

With her list, she started to find as many artworks as available. Some included the works of Picasso, Man Ray, and Ernst. She brought the artwork when she fled from the Europe during the War. She opened a museum in New York. The museum preserved some priced, old artworks.

Guggenheim closed her New York museum in 1946 and moved to Venice. There, she continued collecting artwork. She did not open a gallery but lent her collection instead to other museums and exhibits. Later, she stopped buying art and focused on sharing it.

Guggenheim died on December 29, 1979. She was known as one of the most influential promoters of modern art in the US.