….one of my favourite art galleries in all of Italy
I guess I shouldn’t have said ‘all of Italy’ when I’ve only seen a small portion of the country. I had never heard of Peggy Guggenheim before this trip. Of course I knew of the famous Guggenheim Museum in New York but I had no idea that there was another Guggenheim in Venice.
Peggy Guggenheim was an avid collector of modern art and in an eight year period she amassed a collection of art by Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Calder, Henry Moore, Motherwell and Max Ernst, just to name a few, who represented Cubist, Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist movements in art.
She moved to Venice after WWII and set up a gallery of her collection at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal. In the summers she opened her home to the public and when she died in 1979 she left her estate to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation on the condition that the collection would remain intact in Venice and would be recognized as hers. The Foundation assumed responsibility for both the collection and for Guggenheim’s palazzo.
In 2015 a movie of her colourful and controversial life was made. Here is the trailer.
I think I enjoyed this collection so much because it was full of modern artists that I admire very much. The Palazzo itself was light and airy and the outdoor sculpture garden was serene and calming. Being on the Grand Canal added another element of vitality and I could just imagine Peggy sitting on the balcony with her dogs observing the gondolas and small water crafts making their way through the green waters of Venice.
Mama Cormier 
Lovely gallery. 🙂
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Thank you Marje.
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She gets a mention in many books about art and artists in Paris where She seems to have been quite a character, well-known and influential.
Lovely to see modern sculpture set against stunning backgrounds.
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She was quite the character and I’m hoping to find the movie about her life on Net Flix.
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Lovely post, Carol, which brought back wonderful memories of my visit to this gallery some years ago now!
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It really was my favourite gallery in Italy. I guess I really do like modern art more so than the old masters.
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Great post. Forwarded link to my daughter the art student. She was very pleased.
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I’m glad she liked it. It is a wonderful place and I highly recommend it as a must see place in Venice.
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A film about her would be interesting. If you find it I’d be grateful to know the name.
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The movie is called Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
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My daughter has been awarded an internship at this museum and we found your post very interesting. Lovely photos!
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Thank you Marilyn. I’m glad you found the post helpful. How exciting for your daughter. Venice was my most favourite city in Italy. If I’m lucky enough to go back to Italy it will be on my itinerary again but for a much longer stay. The Peggy Guggenheim Gallery is chock full of abstract art which I am partial to and the setting couldn’t be more special.
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