The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is one of several museums of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Containing principally the personal art collection of Peggy Guggenheim (1898–1979), a former wife of artist Max Ernst and a niece of mining magnate Solomon R. Guggenheim, this museum houses one of the most important collections of early 20th century European and American art in Italy. Works on display include those of prominent American modernists and Italian futurists. Pieces in the collection embrace Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract expressionism. These include notable works by Picasso, Dalí, Magritte, Brâncuşi (including a sculpture from the Bird in Space series) and Pollock. Other prominent artists include Braque, Duchamp, Léger, Severini, Picabia, de Chirico, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Miró, Giacometti, Klee, Gorky, Calder and Max Ernst.[1] In one room, the museum also exhibits a few paintings by Peggy's daughter Pegeen Vail.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is housed in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, an 18th century palace designed by the Venetian architect Lorenzo Boschetti.[2] Purchased by Peggy Guggenheim in July 1949, the Palazzo was her home for thirty years.[3] In 1951, the Palazzo, its garden, now called the Nasher Sculpture Garden, and her art collection were opened to the public from April to October for viewing.[4] Her home remained open until her death in Camposampiero, near Padua, in 1979, when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, led by Peter Lawson-Johnston, took on the management of the palazzo and its collection.[5] In April 1980, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection reopened. Since 1985, it has been open year-round.[6]
Philip Rylands is the museum's current director.[7]