An Interior Design Tribute to Peggy Guggenheim

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A good part of my preparation for this project has been devoted to historical research about the fascinating life of Peggy Guggenheim: her contribution to modern art, to the time in which she lived and particularly to her contemporaries.

The turn of the 20th century and the ensuing four decades witnessed great exchange between the U.S. and “the Continent,” as Europe was called, in terms of cultural interest. Affluent and educated Americans traveled to Europe on the “Grand Tour,” and artistically inclined American born “free spirits” made Paris their stomping ground. It was in this milieu that creativity flourished and great strides were made in advancement of art, music, literature and fashion. This group of characters became known as “the Lost Generation,” and they witnessed the birth of art movements such as Modernism, Cubism, Abstractionism and Surrealism.

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Guggenheim, the bohemian daughter of wealthy New Yorkers, found her expression and passion in art. For the duration of her adult life, she frequented artists and had romantic relationships with them; one of these was Max Ernst, whom she married. As a young woman in the 1920s, she traveled to Paris, where she voraciously started to collect the works of her artist friends and their friends. In 1938, she opened her own art gallery in Paris called Galerie Jeune, which was hugely successful.

Her salon in St. Germain des Pres was a unique environment, where she began acting as a guru and mentor to expat Americans, as well as artists, writers and musicians from all over. For the first half of the 20th century, the salon was a hotbed of inspiration and creativity in a rarified milieu accessible only to a small population that had the freedom and good fortune to travel to Paris; an invitation to her lively salon was much coveted.

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The German invasion of France in 1941 caused Guggenheim to return to New York, where she opened her museum/gallery, Art of This Century, which displayed the works of unknown American artists such as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. However, when Europe beckoned, she returned this time to Venice, where her stupendous collection was exhibited at the Biennale in 1948; she toured Europe thereafter. She decided to make Venice her home in her acquisition of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, holding a sculpture exhibition in her garden. Every summer, she opened her Palazzo and collection to the public, which continued to grow until her death in 1979. Her Palazzo and collection were bequeathed to her uncle Solomon’s foundation and namesake museum.

The world has become a much smaller place. Today, one hops on a plane and goes halfway across the world without much thought, while daily events are reported and seen worldwide on an instantaneous basis. My challenge in creating this room was evoking the feeling of an environment similar to Peggy Guggenheim’s in today’s global society.

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“Peggy’s Room” is an inviting space, which lends itself to long hours exchanging ideas and to lively conversation. There is no obvious theme or structure to the room; rather, its concept is the spontaneous outgrowth of its function as an informal gathering place. The emphasis is on the inherent connection between art and design, which was very much the aesthetic inclination of the time.

That said, the artwork – sculptures, digital works, works on paper and paintings – has a big presence and is enhanced by its setting. The room respects a neutral and solid color palette for the most part, with splashes of color and pattern here and there. A richness of textures conveyed by a variety of materials – velvet, wool, cotton, twill, silk and crewel – prevail.

As far as furniture is concerned, there is comfortable seating, including a sofa and some unusual, non-matching chairs. There is also lighting, a coffee table, side tables and a console of different materials (wood, glass, lacquer, bronze, brass, steel and goat skin) – all modernist in style. Finally, there are objects of a so-called “primitive” provenance that recall their roles in the birth of modern art. The whole room is a tableau of different layers of art that speak to the sensitivity and the intuition of the beholder.

Catherine Weinstock is a prolific interior designer with a keen eye for creating understated yet bold environments. She can be reached at info@cwidny.com.

catherine-weinstock-interior-designSOURCES
Debra Weninger Design/Jean de Merry
Stephanie Odegard Antiqueria Tribeca
Tucker Robbins
Dennis Miller
Cristina Grajales Gallery Galerie Dumonteil
Stillfried Wien
Lost City Arts
Amyas Naegele
Creel & Gow
Restoration Hardware
Pillows et Plus
Norman Mooney
Sajjad Ahmed
Khalil Chishtee
Sabine Friesicke
Stacy Seiler

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