Peggy Guggenheim: biography, photo, activity

Margaret Guggenheim, a well-known patroness of the arts all over the world, gallery owner, art collector and patron of art, was born in New York on August 26, 1898. It went down in history under the name of Peggy Guggenheim. Her contribution to the development of contemporary art is indeed invaluable. Peggy was the youngest of three children of Benjamin Guggenheim, a large American industrialist with Jewish roots who died on the Titanic liner in April 1912.

Biography. early years

In publications about the life of Peggy, journalists often write about the fact that the girl's childhood was not a happy one. She grew up alone and undernourished, because her parents lived their own lives: the mother was a secular lioness and rarely communicated with children and her husband, and his father was always busy earning another million. In addition, he spent most of his time in Europe, away from the family. However, Peggy's memories of her parents' family are different ... In one of the interviews she told that she adored her parents and that she had quite pleasant memories of her childhood. When she was 13 years old, there was a misfortune: the father of the family together with his secretary found themselves on the wrecked "Titanic". According to the family legend, Mr. Benjamin gave up his place in the lifeboat and remained on the ship, helping the women and children until the last second. From that day on, his father became a real hero for Peggy, and she kept her bright memory of him for the rest of her days.

The path to art

This family misfortune changed the girl's life overnight. She became the heir to the millionth estate of her father. However, to enter into the right of inheritance, she needed to wait until she was of age. Prior to that, she was in charge of her uncle Solomon Guggenheim - the richest man, a great businessman, a great connoisseur and patron of the arts. Despite the uncountable wealth of her uncle, the girl felt like a poor relative in his house and did not enjoy the special love and disposition of her cousins. For a time, she worked in a bookshop, which exhibited the works of avant-garde writers, here she met with the progressive minds of her time.

Paris, Paris!

After Peggy Guggenheim became an adult and inherited her father's fortune of $ 2,500,000, she traveled from New York to Paris, the capital of the arts. Here, a young woman falls into the midst of "roaring twenties." Paris of the 20s was the focus of progressive and talented artists: writers, musicians, artists. Before the rich heiress, naturally, the doors of all secular boudoir are open, where the beau monde gathers. Every day the circle of her friends and acquaintances widens: Natalie Barney, Mey Ray, Juna Barnes, Romaine Brooks - and this is the incomplete list of celebrities with whom she surrounded herself. Life next to my uncle - a great connoisseur of fine art - contributed to the development of her refined taste. Peggy Guggenheim visits various exhibitions, gets acquainted with surrealist artists, patronizes them, produces films, lights up creating his own gallery and for this purpose starts buying paintings.

Creating a Collection

She decides to invest her father's capital in painting. And in this it helps Marcel Duchamp - a famous American artist, an art theorist. Adhering to his advice, she is engaged in acquiring the works of not recognized, but novice artists. Soon it turns out that the girl has a rare talent - intuition, which helps her in choosing promising works. Thus, the collection of Peggy Guggenheim begins to be replenished with paintings by artists who will be recognized in the future. Here are some of them: Kandinsky, Dali, Picasso, Tangi, Cocteau, Pollock, etc. Naturally, the works acquired for a song start to grow in value, multiplying the state of Peggy Guggenheim. On the other hand, some artists recognized her in the art world as a rich American woman, who was diligently engaged in promoting their work. Being under her protection, they lead a carefree life, spend her money, and try to please her in every possible way. In return, she organizes their exhibitions, finds wealthy clients who are ready to buy paintings.

Galleries

In 1938, at the first Guggenheim Jeune exhibition in London on Cork Street founded by Paul Guggenheim, paintings by Jean Cocteau were presented and were very successful. And after the outbreak of World War II Peggy bought most of the work of this surrealist and abstractionist, decorating their impressive collection. Here, in the London gallery, she exhibited the works of the young Polish artist Kandinsky, and then Yves Tanguy. In the early 40's Peggy was thinking about creating a gallery in the French capital and even rented a room for this. However, the invasion of the fascist army prevented the realization of her plan, she is forced to leave Paris and go first to the south of France, and from there - to her homeland, to New York. Here she opens the gallery of Art of This Century, which soon becomes one of the most fashionable and original exhibition halls in the American capital of arts.

The Museum

Up to 1946, it runs between Europe and America in search of worthy paintings for its collection, which grows day by day and replenishes with magnificent masterpieces. Its ultimate goal is to create its own museum Peggy Guggenheim. The next three years she, along with her collection, participates in various exhibitions both in the States and in Europe. And in the early 50's, she came to the Biennale in Venice. Of course, here she was before, but right now she understands that it's time to realize a long-standing dream - to found a museum that will belong only to her, the famous Peggy Guggenheim! Venice, in her opinion, is the best place for this. She buys a wonderful white palace right on the canal bank, brings her collection of paintings and other rarities here, decorates everything to her taste. Here she decides to settle and spend the rest of her life.

As described by contemporaries Peggy (Margaret) Guggenheim

Young, eccentric, extravagant and intelligent, purposeful and assertive, not beautiful, but pretty. The central figure on her face was an impressive nose - a family feature, which did not really spoil her. Nevertheless, she somehow decided to resort to the help of a scalpel, but at the last minute, already on the operating table, abandoned the idea. Her friends think that having lost her nose, she would lose her family scent - the ability to smell money, multiply them and spend wisely.

Personal life

Naturally, the heiress of the American millionaire Peggy Guggenheim, whose autobiography was published in the book Out of this century: confessions of an art addict, was considered an enviable bride on the threshold of her adulthood. She had many admirers from wealthy families, but her choice fell on Lawrence Veil - semi-american semi-franc, half-writer semi-artist. It was with him that Peggy first went to conquer Paris. Later she wrote that this marriage was her tragic mistake. Rather, it was her family, who could not even imagine how you could live for $ 100 a month. However, at first, the rich heiress was simply fascinated by her husband, who introduced her to the French beau monde and to all the sights of the capital and its suburbs. The marriage lasted 7 years and gave her two children - Sinbad and Peggin. Weil constantly changed his wife to her own money. However, he realized that their condition did not belong to him, but to her, and he hated Peggy, her family, her money. He constantly rolled public scenes, finding out the relationship with a loud beat of dishes, throwing out of the windows of various objects, especially her shoes and handbags. Peggy understood that this could not continue for a long time. And then she hired a lawyer and soon divorced, although she did not break off friendly relations with him, and also continued to pay his bills. Weil was the first serious love of Peggy Guggenheim. She still kept her photo in her purse for a long time. Moreover, she understood that it was the connection with Weil that opened the doors to the world of the Parisian beau monde before her.

Men P. Guggenheim

The second time she married writer Johnny Holmes. He was a great intellectual, but he could not earn money at all. But he was very enthusiastic to spend the money of his rich and noble wife. For Marcel Duchamp, Peggy was not married, but they were also associated with love relationships, besides, she considers him to be her guide to the art world, her mentor for life and the best counselor. Whether the artist Yves Tanguy was the lover of Peggy, it's hard to say, but thanks to her he gained fame. Then there were Samuel Beckett, the writer, the future Nobel laureate, Herbert Reed, the Chevalier of the Order of the Garter. For Max Ernst, Margaret Guggenheim married for the third time. He was a great artist of his time, as well as a terrific lover and ladies' man. Peggy took him with him from occupied Paris to New York. Soon his paintings adorned the collection of his lawful wife. Peggy was called the guardian angel of avant-garde and surrealists. As you can see, all the men of the great gallery owner were talented personalities, who were associated with her in a mutually beneficial relationship: they were attracted by the wealth of Peggy, and her - their creativity.

The film "Peggy Guggenheim: no day without art"

Since 1948 the famous gallery owner has settled on the Adriatic coast, in the magnificent Venice. Despite the fact that in her youth Peggy felt like a poor relative in the family, she later became the most famous representative of the Guggenheim family. In Venice, she lived in her own palace, held a retinue, owned a gondola and daily made a walk along the canals accompanied by a suite dressed in turquoise. She was remembered like this in a fairy-tale city. She looked very extravagant, her images always differed in originality. She loved wearing dresses and accessories in African style: many feathers, extraordinary headdresses, massive necklaces. She certainly was one of the most outstanding women of her time, and in 2015, a talented director
Liza Immordino Vriland was filmed an artistic tape about Peggy Guggenheim. The film tells about her life, about her amazing intuition, which contributed to her becoming, and of course, about her men, whom she "collected" the same way as the pictures.