Peggy Guggenheim: a Character Study

Image courtesy The Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Peggy Guggenheim, if you don't already know, was quite a gal. She acquired art (and men) with great aplomb. Her autobiography is a fun read and regales her adventures in collecting.

Image via modaemodi.org.

Photo by Slim Aarons. Image via photographersgallery.com.

Image by Life Magazine.

Guggenheim circumnavigated the globe, but Venice was her final stop.

Photo by David Seymour.

Peggy in her very own gondola. Image source unknown.

Image by Life Magazine.

After her death in 1979, Peggy's gorgeous Venetian Palazzo, located directly on the Grand Canal, became a museum to share all of the incredible and important art she acquired over the years: the collection includes pieces by Picasso, Calder, Kandinsky and Miro, to name a few (the list is really a who's who).

Alexander Calder mobile.

Pable Picasso, On the Beach, 1937.

Alexander Calder, Silver Beadhead, 1945-46. This was Peggy's headboard!

Max Ernst, The Kiss, 1927. Max and Peggy were married for a time.

Paul Klee, Upward, October 1929.

Peggy Guggenheim was an amazing champion of early 20th Century art and artists, and visitors to The Peggy Guggenheim Collection are able to benefit from her passion. I had a chance to see the collection last year, and this visit was a highlight of my time in Venice (although, honestly, all of Venice was a highlight of my time in Venice!).

Sixty Years of Peggy, 1948 - 2008. Photo by me.

These gates were made by Clare Falkenstein in 1961. Photo courtesy of Jovike.

Close up of Falkenstein's gates. Photo by me.

Stone sculptures overlooking the Grand Canal. Photo by me.

Peggy's chair and a sculpture in the garden. Photo by me.

Close up of Marino Marina's The Angel of the City,1948. Photo by me.

A sculpture in the garden. Photo by me.

Overlooking the Grand Canal. Photo by me.

Marino Marini, Pomona, 1945. Photo by me.

Alexander Calder, Sabot (1963). Photo by me.

Details of a gate at the Palazzo. Photo by me.

A stop at the museum is a must if you go to Venice, or you can enjoy the collection in this wonderful book and take an incredible virtual tour here.

Artwork images (Picasso, Calder, Ernst, and Klee) are courtesy of The Peggy Guggenheim Collection. If anything has been misattributed, please let me know!