For thousands of years, art has been valued by humans as a form of expression and beauty. Since ancient times, art has been a sign of humanity. This still applies in modern times. In order to capture the significance of art in humanity, in 1929, a man named Solomon R. Guggenheim began a collection that would influence the art world for decades to come.
Solomon R. Guggenheim was born in 1861 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up there along with his six brothers and was raised by his parents, Barbara Weil and Meyer Guggenheim,. He grew up and joined his father’s business, a Swiss embroidery importing company. In 1895, he married his wife, Irene Rothschild Guggenheim. As he grew older, he began to take a liking to the arts. Modernist paintings especially piqued his interest, which led him to create what would later be known as the Guggenheim Collection.
Prior to his marriage, Guggenheim focused on more refined, classic pieces. He focused on American landscapes, old European portraits, and over 150 works by Vasily Kandinsky. This changed when his wife commissioned the German abstract painter and collector Hilla Rebay to paint a portrait of her husband. After meeting Rebay, Guggenheim found a love for modern works and began adding them to his collection in multitudes. According to The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Guggenheim described that he “got to feel those pictures so deeply that [he] wanted them to live with [him].”
During the early 1930’s, Guggenheim began to share his collection with the public. He would book out certain suites of the Plaza Hotel and hold private viewings amongst those who were able to get tickets. This continued until Rebay organized for the works to be displayed at the Gibbes Memorial Art Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. This was the first museum display of Guggenheim’s collection. Shortly after this, Guggenheim founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. With Rebay’s help, Guggenheim was able to have the collection displayed in various other museums and galleries before finally commissioning the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. On October 21, 1959, the Guggenheim museum was open to the public in New York City.
All in all, the Guggenheim museum has been widely loved and appreciated by many visitors. Over the years, it has seen millions of visitors and art lovers. Guggenheim’s years of collecting art and sharing his love for it with others paid off, and it still does. Everyday aspiring artists, lovers of art, and fellow collectors alike are able to enjoy the beautiful Guggenheim Museum.
References
“Solomon R. Guggenheim.” Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Guggenheim New York, n.d., https://www.guggenheim.org/about-us/history/solomon-r-guggenheim.
“History.” Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Guggenheim New York, n.d., https://www.guggenheim.org/about-us/history.
