Amongst all our travels, Henry and I enjoyed touching base with a little bit of “home” in the guise of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum on the Grand Canal. It is one of the several museums of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, as Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979)  developed her art collection with the fortune provided by her family as the niece of the mining magnate, Solomon R. Guggenheim. Her interest in art was encouraged by her friendship with Marcel Duchamp, who educated her about the difference between abstract and surrealist art. She married the surrealist artist, Max Ernst, opened an “cutting edge” gallery in New York called “Art of This Century” and amassed a collection of art which would be worth a fortune in today’s market. I was especially happy to reacquaint myself with her marvelous collection of 20th century avant garde art. Works by Jackson Pollock, Max Ernst, Matta, Miro, Tanguy, Picasso, Giacometti,  Dali, Duchamp, Brancusi, Magritte, Duchamp-Villon Alexander Calder, David Smith, and Mario Marini have certainly stood the test of time. All of these works are housed in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, an unfinished one-story building purchased by Peggy Guggenheim, which had originally been planned to have four floors. The palazzo has gardens for sculpture on both sides of the building, with the infamous “The Angel of the City” bronze boy on a horse sculpture facing the Grand Canal.  I was delighted to see an exhibition of contemporary sculpture in the gardens restored by the Ray Nasher Foundation. Outstanding pieces by Dan Graham and Anish Kapoor were temporarily displayed here. Peggy Guggenheim is buried in the garden of the museum, with a simple stone plaque on the garden wall stating “Here Lies Peggy Guggenheim”. Next to this plaque is a charming attribute to the nine dogs she buried here during her lifetime: “Here Lie my Beloved Babies ... Cappuccino, Pegeen, Peacock, Madam Butterfly . . . and more. We took a break with a real cappuccino served in the café, which gave us a jolt of caffeine energy to keep going on our rounds of Venice -- just a short Traghetto gondola ride from San Marco.

PHOTOS:  Left Column: 1. An Alexander Calder “Stabile”, a welded steel sculpture painted black, overlooking the Grand Canal. 2. The Peggy Guggenheim Museum name on the Palazzo Vernier dei Leoni facing the Grand Canal. 3. A photo of Peggy Guggenheim taken from an official poster, posted in the garden of the museum. 4. The garden entrance to the museum with a “Cubi” sculpture by David Smith. Center, Top: Jourdan seated in the garden of the museum behind a Giacometti “Standing Woman” sculpture in bronze. Center, Bottom: “The Angel of the City” bronze sculpture by Mario Marini facing the Grand Canal. Right Column: 1. Caved stone horses on the Grand Canal side of the museum. 2. Detail of the metal gates of the museum, embellished with contemporary glass “gems”. 3. Henry alongside the Marini sculpture. 4. A charming gazebo structure. In the background is the burial site of Peggy Guggenheim and her “beloved babies”, her deceased pets.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                           BACK TO MAP PAGE