Peggy Guggenheim

Peggy Guggenheim was an American art collector, socialité, and promoter.

Member of the prominent Guggenheim family, known for their contributions to the arts, in 1938, she opened her first art gallery called Guggenheim Jeune in London, showcasing avant-garde and surrealist artworks. Her gallery became an influential platform for artists such as Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, and Max Ernst.

With the outbreak of World War II, Guggenheim relocated to New York City. In 1942, she opened the Art of This Century gallery, a groundbreaking exhibition space that showcased modern and abstract art. Guggenheim’s gallery introduced American audiences to emerging artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still, contributing significantly to the development of abstract expressionism.

Guggenheim was known for her open and candid approach to her personal life, including her bisexuality. Throughout her lifetime, Guggenheim was unapologetically honest about her relationships and love affairs with both men and women. In her memoirs, particularly in her autobiography Out of this Century: Confessions of an Art Addict. Her willingness to share these aspects of her life, along with the accounts of other historians, offers insight into Guggenheim’s fluid and diverse love life.