Peggy Guggenheim: A Celebration [Hardcover]

Thomas Messer (Author), Karole Vail (Editor), Thomas M. Messer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Guggenheim Museum Publications | Publication Date: July 2003

This elegant volume celebrates the 100th anniversary of Peggy Guggenheim's birth in 1898. Guggenheim's granddaughter Karole Vail provides an intimate biographical account of the collector's extraordinary life, from her privileged upbringing through her friendships with such avant-garde figures as Samuel Beckett and Marcel Duchamp. Before World War II, she ran the Guggenheim Jeune gallery in London, quickly accumulating a superb collection of Surrealist and abstract art. In 1942, she escaped to New York with Max Ernst and opened the landmark Art of The Century gallery, where she exhibited her collection and works by such emerging artists as Jackson Pollock. Guggenheim finally settled in Venice in the 18th-century palazzo that became the Peggy Guggenheim Collection after her death. Her guestbooks, pages from which are published here for the first time, reveal an astounding array of visitors and drawings by Jean Arp, Marc Chagall, and Alberto Giacometti, among others. Thomas Messer, former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, sums up the courtship that ended with the donation of Guggenheim's collection--much of which is reproduced here in full color--to the foundation. Numerous personal photographs make this centennial celebration a beautiful tribute to a life dedicated to art.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Peggy Guggenheim was among the most intriguing cultural figures of her day?as intriguing as the vast collection of modern art she amassed over her lifetime. Her granddaughter pays her a fitting tribute in this lavishly illustrated volume with photos of family and friends, stunning reproductions of artworks (by Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, and others), and facsimiles from her famous guest books (including entries from such notables as Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, and Ned Rorem). The account of Guggenheim's life is absorbing, exploring her ties within the international art community, her personal life, the stories behind many of her acquisitions of modern abstract works, and her romance with the city of Venice. This is all presented with beauty, charm, and candor, providing an empathetic acquaintance with this remarkable woman, whose striking collection is a continual delight for visitors to La Serenissima. An essay by Thomas M. Messer, former director of the Guggenheim Foundation, provides an illuminating close to the book. Essential for art lovers.?Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"This lively essay and selection of reproductions makes for an arresting portrait of one of America's most important collectors." -- Tatler, UK --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Guggenheim Museum (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892072857
• ISBN-13: 978-0892072859
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,480,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Larger format of this subject - great for the pictures!, January 30, 2010

By 

Mike Eggert "Mike Eggert" (Novato, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Peggy Guggenheim: A Celebration (Guggenheim Museum Publications) (Hardcover)

I consider myself a quasi-scholar on Peggy Guggenheim and there are many contributions she made to the Modern Art world in the 1930's to the 1950's... She's a hard person to really admire for all her personality flaws, but that might apply to me as well... She was a very independent, yet insecure lady who made many brave moves in a man's world of that era.
Though this is far from the definitive book on her it doesn't try to be. Vail is granddaughter and Foundation/Publisher are directly related to the subject as well. It is a larger format book that gives one a better view of some of the artwork she collected, yet as usual, it fails to convey how far advanced and adventurous her collection was when she was actually purchasing these works. Peggy's position and stature in the art world will continue to grow but one needs a more modern view (this was published in 1998). It is a celebration, so not a scholarly or objective review of it's subject. I'm glad to have it in my collection.