I have always been a history buff. I grew up with a father who loved to read books having to do with history or historical figures. Some that I remember seeing on his bedside table were about Churchill, Madam Chiang Kai-shek, Mark Twain; anything on World War II, the Terracotta Soldiers, Nixon, Kennedy, etc. He was interested in everything and everybody. From him, I developed a wide spread curiosity and a particular love of biographies.
I have just finished Anton Gill’s biography of Peggy Guggenheim entitled Art Lover. I was, of course, familiar with the Guggenheim Museum in New York but not familiar with Peggy Guggenheim per say. The fact that I learned from the fly leaf still goes down as one of the most interesting things I have learned about anybody! At age 14, Peggy’s father, Benjamin Guggenheim, went down with the Titanic. That is fascinating enough but add to that he was en route home from installing the elevator machinery in the Eiffel Tower. Now, read that sentence again…how wild?!?
Needless to say, Peggy inherited a small fortune that in the ensuing years would be directed towards acquiring primarily modern art. Just before the outbreak of WWII, Peggy had plans to open her own museum in Paris but with the advent of war, she fled Paris and lived awhile in the French countryside. With the museum’s money at her disposal she commenced to building the art collection that would one day make her famous. After several years she moved to New York, where she became a real patron of the arts with her eye primarily fixed on new, modern artists. She practically discovered Jackson Pollack and financed his work and showcased his art. She bought numerous Picassos and works by Magritte, Miro and Brancusi. It was her uncle, Solomon Guggenheim, whose name and money created the gorgeous Guggenheim Museum in New York that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Peggy was very involved in the museum, overseeing the collections and always on the look out for new artists like Alexander Calder.
Her private life did not fare as well as her artistic endeavors and Gill goes into great length detailing her dalliances with men such as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy and Roland Penrose. She had several failed marriages and two children whom she kept in boarding schools and with nannies. She never wanted to be a mother and did not try to hide that fact. She was always searching for some kind of meaning or real fame and looked to find it through men, money, power and influence. She died alone in Venice, where there is a museum of modern art that bears her name. A really interesting book that I thoroughly enjoyed. -Norma
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