Guggenheim in Venice

If you are a lover of modern art and you are in Venice, do not waste time and join our Peggy Guggenheim tour! The building consists of just one floor on the Grand Canal, lined with Istrian stone and sprouting trees of its garden, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. Which corresponds to the European and American art, dating from the twentieth century and is one of the most important museums in Italy.

It certainly is a jewel of a museum, where there is plenty to see and learn. You can even have a coffee break at the Museum’s Café, run by the nearby restaurant “Ai Gondoliers”, offering a beautiful terrace on the Venice Lagoon and in the private garden with Nasher sculptures. Making it an opportunity to experience something even more extraordinary.

With Viaggi di Architettura, we discover the history and architecture of the Venetian life of the American art collector Peggy Guggenheim, whose great passion for art and Venice led her to purchasing the dwelling, eccentric Marchesa Luisa Casati (the last owner of Palazzo Venier) and move from her hometown, New York in 1951.

The museum

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is based in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal, which used to be the home of Peggy Guggenheim. The modern art museum houses the personal collection of Peggy Guggenheim, as well as masterpieces of the Hannelore B.- and Rudolph B. Schulhof collection, and a garden of Nasher sculptures and other temporary exhibitions. Peggy Guggenheim began with publicly showcasing her private collection of modern art in 1951. After her passing in 1979, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation took over, they then decided to open the collection all year around. Amongst the collection you can find Italian futurists and American modernists, with genres such as Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract expressionism, as well as sculptural works are included.

Jackson Pollock

Peggy Guggenheim also commissioned Jackson Pollock, back in 1943, to paint a mural for her townhouse, Pollock’s largest painting. At the time, Jackson Pollock was still relatively unknown. Although Peggy Guggenheim had mixed feelings about his work, she was convinced by her assistant Howard Putzel and Marcel Duchamp. At first, Jackson Pollock had issues with starting on the mural and ended up staring at a blank canvas for months, leading to the frustration of Peggy Guggenheim. She then gave an ultimatum; he had to finish the painting for a party. The next morning, the once blank 160-square-foot canvas was now transformed into a hysteria of different coloured brushstrokes. Self-proclaimed by Pollock as a stampede of all the animals in West-America. Since the mural, his work has continued to inspire.

 For information, reservations or special requests on routes dedicated to the city of Venice by Viaggi di Architettura.