Peggy Guggenheim by Sienna van Alphen

When looking at the works produced by Surrealist artist, I had a hard time finding something that draws me to the images.  Yes I find that surrealist art was brilliant and still is to this day but I certainly would never attempt to collect it.  This thought brought me to thinking about the collectors during the surrealist movement and asking myself why would they choose surrealist art? Is it just because it was the “it” thing to do or is there more meaning behind the art that collectors had a connection with? 

            Peggy Guggenheim was one of the most famous collectors of surrealist art.  Her interest in it has made many of the surrealist artists famous to this day.  Peggy was born into a wealthy family and when her father died she grew up having a troubled childhood.  She married her first husband, Laurence Vail, who was a Dadaist himself he introduced Peggy to new ways of thinking, which in return slowly sparked her interest in the movement.  Vail had over the course of time, introduced Peggy to various Dadaist groups, which introduced her to many new artists including Marcel Duchamp. Dada was a leading factor that started surrealism and Peggy’s taste also started to shift towards surrealism.  Though Peggy was first drawn to more historical art, she was able to collect modern art because it fit her budget.  Her knowledge of modern art was minimal when she started to take an interest in it but because Vail was involved in it and had brought her along to many social events, she did have some experience.   Peggy was interested in modern artists that include Picasso, de Chirico, Chagall, Picabia, and Duchamp. 

            Peggy’s first purchase was a sculpture by Jean Arp titled Head and Shell; she was guided by Marcel Duchamp.  The connection that she had made with Arp had brought her a connection to Kandinsky and Bauer.  Her connection to surrealism came a bit later in her life.  While she was with one of her many lovers she was introduced to the founder of surrealism André Breton.  This being the start for her love of surrealism it led to findings such as Jackson Pollock.  She considered Jackson Pollock as one of her most honorable achievements and started him off on a high career path. 

            Now that there is a brief history on Peggy Guggenheim I would like to explore the question of why she chose surrealist art.  Besides the fact that it was easier to collect because it did not cost as much as collecting works by the Old Masters.  It was difficult at first to find one exact reason that stated Peggy’s interest in the art world of surrealism but after reading through Charlotte Gere and Marina Vaizey’s book Great Women Collectors a couple reasons were uncovered.  When reading through the chapter on Peggy Guggenheim, Gere and Vaizey wrote that Peggy “started to collect art so that she wouldn’t disappoint artists whose works were shown in her galleries.”  In other words she would buy at least one painting from each artist displayed in her galleries so that those artists would not be let down.  Another reason that came up was that she started collecting surrealist art because she felt that she was “serving the future instead of the past” (Gere/Vaizey, 197).  This really sparked my interest and was exactly what I was looking for.  After reading that quote it made more sense why Peggy Guggenheim wanted to collect surrealist work, to concentrate on these modern works meant producing the future while focusing on previous pieces of art meant focusing on something that would not and can not be changed.  Because of this outlook that Peggy had on modern art, including surrealism, and the future, she helped artist such as Jackson Pollock and Max Ernst become some of the most famous artist in the world. 

Citations:
1st Image: Peggy Guggenheim

2nd Image: Head and Shell, Jean Arp, 1933

3rd Image: The Antipope, Max Ernst, 1942

Gere, Charlotte, and Marina Vaizet. "Patrons and Collectors of Surrealism." Great Women Collectors.
London: Philip Wilson Limited, 1999. 191-97. Print.

Gill, Anton. Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.