In Growing Up Guggenheim, Peter Lawson-Johnston, a Guggenheim himself, and the board president who oversaw the transformation of the renowned museum from a local New York institution to a global art venture, shares a personal memoir that includes intimate portraits of the five people principally responsible for the entire Guggenheim art legacy. In addition to first-hand biographical accounts of his grandfather Solomon Guggenheim (the museum's founder), his cousin Harry (Solomon's successor), and his famously rebellious cousin Peggy (whose magnificent Venice art collection he helped bring under New York Guggenheim management), the author tells the stories of long-time museum director Thomas Messer, who initiated the bold expansion of Frank Lloyd Wright's original museum building, and current director Thomas Krens, whose controversial tenure has featured such innovations as the Guggenheim's wildly successful first international outpost in Bilbao, Spain, and exhibits devoted to fashion and motorcycles. Lawson-Johnston also traces his own career, from his first job as sales manager of a remote feldspar mine, to his rapid ascent to the family summit, to his extension of the Guggenheim legacy in ways none of his predecessors could have envisioned. Despite his native and tangible humility, this evocative narrative makes clear Lawson-Johnston's indispensable role as the loyal steward of one of America?s most famous family enterprises.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Growing up Guggenheim is a tour de force, an enthralling story told with a directness that combines candor, humor, insight and reflection. Peter Lawson-Johnston has proven the brilliant shrewdness that led Harry Guggenheim to pick him, an unheralded cousin, to lead a new generation of an extraordinary family. The author's talent has ennobled the entire clan Guggenheim and has enriched the worlds of art and business with an entrepreneurial energy and commitment that presents a magnificent challenge to those who succeed to his responsibilities." - William J. vanden Heuvel, former U.S. Ambassador, European Office of the United Nations
"This is a can"t put it down? book of extraordinary and surprising revelations by a Guggenheim about the private lives of that fabulous and opulent family." - Walter Cronkite
"A splendid book, original, readable, dramatic, and instructive. Here is a book autobiographical in form but focusing not so much on the author as on the institution associated with his family's famous name: Guggenheim. We learn of the idea of the museum, of the ambitious and sometime irritating developers of it, of the triumph of the museum built by Frank Lloyd Wright in New York, and its eye-stopping successor in Bilbao. The development of museums, at the hectic and yet inspired pace at which they are being created, is a part of the American story: and here is a brilliant tale of a remarkable institution." - William F. Buckley Jr.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
Peter Lawson-Johnston, a member of the Guggenheim family?s fifth generation, has overseen the family?s major business, philanthropic, and arts enterprises since 1969, when he was named president of the board of trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Lawson-Johnston is president of the board of the university?s art museum. He is also the former president of the board of trustees of The Lawrenceville School, and he currently serves on the board of National Review.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Growing up Guggenheim: A Personal History of a Family Enterprise,
By
This review is from: Growing up Guggenheim: A Personal History of a Family Enterprise (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful tell all story about one of the most prestigious families in the United States told by a Guggenheim descendant who has been at the helm of the family empire for several decades. It is a historical biography of his family. The chapters on the Guggenheim Museum provide tremendous insight into the creation of the world wide Guggenheim Museum franchise. I enjoyed the chapter on Peggy Guggenheim the most. One learns how she dropped out of the family mainstream to amass a priceless art fortune in Venice Italy which she ultimately bequeathed to the Guggenheim Foundation. I highly recommend this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insider's view of a family museum-building achievement,
By D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Growing up Guggenheim: A Personal History of a Family Enterprise (Hardcover)
The author is a Guggenheim himself and the board president who saw the museum changed from a local New York institution to a world-wide art venture: his background lends an insider's eye and appreciation to GROWING UP GUGGENHEIM: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF A FAMILY ENTERPRISE. His accounts of his grandfather Solomon Guggenheim begins with the museum's founder's achievements and family interactions and tells stories of the institution's evolution within and outside the family. His memoirs of personalities over the decades, controversies which affected its efforts to expand, and the author's own career makes for a colorful series of vignettes which come packed with business financials, insights, and art history. A 'must' for any who would understand the Guggenheim enterprise.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Growing Up Guggenheim: A Personal History of a Family Enterprise What makes,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Growing Up Guggenheim: A Personal History of a Family Enterprise (Paperback)
An account of a life of privilege rendered with humility and honesty that leaves the reader wanting to meet the author.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
In America, at least, we often hear of industrialists who are patrons of art. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fellow trustees Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Guggenheim Museum, Guggenheim Foundation, Tom Krens, Tom Messer, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Frank Lloyd Wright, Long Island, Harry Guggenheim, Henry Obre, Hilla Rebay, South Carolina, Freddy Wettach, New Jersey, Pacific Tin, World War, Grandpa Solomon, Cain Hoy, George Fountaine, Guggenheim Bilbao, Las Vegas, Peter Lewis, United States, Solomon Guggenheim, Spruce Pine New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In America, at least, we often hear of industrialists who are patrons of art. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fellow trustees Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Guggenheim Museum, Guggenheim Foundation, Tom Krens, Tom Messer, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Frank Lloyd Wright, Long Island, Harry Guggenheim, Henry Obre, Hilla Rebay, South Carolina, Freddy Wettach, New Jersey, Pacific Tin, World War, Grandpa Solomon, Cain Hoy, George Fountaine, Guggenheim Bilbao, Las Vegas, Peter Lewis, United States, Solomon Guggenheim, Spruce Pine New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
