Copyright by Priyanka Sen 2012 The Thesis Committee for Priyanka Sen Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: The Architectural History of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of Modern Art APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Richard Cleary Christopher Long The Architectural History of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of Modern Art by Priyanka Sen, B.A. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin August 2012 Acknowledgements I am grateful for the patience, support, kindness and wisdom of a number of people. First, I am very appreciative of Dr. Richard Cleary’s guidance throughout this project. His helpful observations and careful readings of many drafts helped to gear this project in a new and exciting direction. I am also thankful to my second reader, Dr. Christopher Long, who provided additional support during the research and writing process. Francine Snyder at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Archives and her staff offered me wonderful assistance in my short trip to the New York. I am most indebted to my family: Dad, Mom, Pritha and Tim – no one could ask for a better, loving support system. I would also like to thank Elizabeth Schaub and the entire Visual Resources Collection family for always lending an ear to new ideas and providing me with their support and friendship. I am especially lucky to be surrounded by wonderful, amazing colleagues. Most of all, Samuel Dodd, who will never be like the rest. iv Abstract The Architectural History of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of Modern Art Priyanka Sen, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2012 Supervisor: Richard Cleary Marguerite “Peggy” Guggenheim is best known for her legacy of collecting modern art in both Europe and the United States, but scholars have overlooked her importance as a patron of modern architecture, specifically the exhibition spaces that showcased her art collection. This thesis fills the gap of literature by tracing the architectural history of the collection. Guggenheim represented a catalyst for bridging the role of art and architecture by promoting modern art through three different spatial approaches: creating collaborative and didactic gallery workspaces at Galerie Guggenheim Jeune in London (1938-1939), establishing architectural spaces that employed unique display techniques at Art of This Century in New York (1942-1948), and instituting a final home-museum at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice (1949- present). Through the use of primary sources, such as Guggenheim’s autobiography, archival sources including familial correspondences, original black and white photographs, newspaper articles, and architectural drawings, I resituate Guggenheim as not only an art patron and collector, but also a benefactor of modern architectural spaces. v Table of Contents List of Figures....................................................................................................... vii Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Collaboration, Commerce and Display in the Modern Art Gallery...... 9 Collaborative and Didactic Workspaces...................................................... 11 Gallery and Commerce ................................................................................ 14 The Power of Display Techniques............................................................... 17 Chapter 2: The Final Home-Museum .................................................................. 30 House Versus Home .................................................................................... 30 Guggenheim as Designer ............................................................................. 34 The Palazzo as Home-Museum ................................................................... 39 The Female Patron ....................................................................................... 42 Conclusion: "I am a Museum".............................................................................. 44 Illustrations ........................................................................................................... 46 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 68 Vita ...................................................................................................................... 71 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni plan drawn by Saul Furstein. Venice, Italy. Peggy Guggenheim Archives Box 786532, Folder 108, Solomon Guggenheim Archives, New York. Figure 2: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Sitting Room and Library, Regione del Veneto Archivo, BN0003810. Figure 3: “57 Street.” Fortune Magazine (September, 1946): 150. Figure 4: Letter from Baroness Hilla von Rebay to Peggy Guggenheim, no date. Peggy Guggenheim Archives Box 100588, Folder 9. Solomon Guggenheim Archives, New York. Figure 5: Letter from Peggy Guggenheim to Hilla von Rebay, dated March 17th, 1938. Peggy Guggenheim Archives Box 100588, Folder 10. Solomon Guggenheim Archives, New York. Figure 6: Daylight Gallery at Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Story of Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publication, 2004), 261. Figure 7: Letter from Peggy Guggenheim to Frederick Kiesler. February 26, 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004), 173. Figure 8: Space Stage, model, Internationale Ausstellung Neuer Theaterechnik (International Exhibition of New Theater Techniques), Vienna, Austria. Frederick Kiesler. 1924. In ARTstor [University of California, San Diego]. [accessed 3 April 2012]. Available from ARTstor, Inc., New York, New York. Figure 9: City in Space, Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industries Modernes, Paris, France. Frederick Kiesler. 1925. In ARTstor [University of California, San Diego]. [accessed 3 April 2012]. Available from ARTstor, Inc., New York, New York. Figure 10: Museum of Non-Objective Painting, 24th East 54th Street, New York. Karole Vail. The Museum of Non-Objective Painting: Hilla Rebay and the Origins of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2009), 63. vii Figure 11: “Brief Note on Designing the Gallery, page 1.” Frederick Kiesler. October 20, 1942. Frederick Kiesler: Art of This Century (Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2002), 34. Figure 12: “Note on Designing the Gallery, page 1.” Frederick Kiesler. October 20, 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004), 174. Figure 13: Recreated floor plan of Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004), 183. Figure 14: Hanging schemes for Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Frederick Kiesler: Art of This Century (Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2002), 55. Figure 15: Abstract Gallery, Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler, 1942. Photograph taken by Berenice Abbott. Peggy Guggenheim Archives, Box 100588, Folder 34, Solomon Guggenheim Foundation Archives, New York. Figure 16: Abstract Gallery at Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004), 190. Figure 17: Hanging schemes for Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Frederick Kiesler: Art of This Century (Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2002), 63. Figure 18: Surrealist Gallery at Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004), 192-193. Figure 19: Cutaway schematic representation of the viewing mechanism for Duchamp’s Boîte-en-valise. Frederick Kiesler. 1942. Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Story of Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publication, 2004), 251. Figure 20: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Garden, Regione del Veneto Archivo, BN000185. Figure 21: Peggy Guggenheim at the Greek Pavilion, XIVth Venice Biennale. Regione del Veneto Archivo, BN000277. Figure 22: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice, Italy. Lorenzo Boschetti. 1748-1749. In ARTstor [Architecture of Venice (Sarah Quill)]. [accessed 3 April 2012]. Available from ARTstor, Inc., New York, New York. viii Figure 23: Dining Room (Cubist Room), Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice, Italy. Lorenzo Boschetti. 1748-49. Laurence Tacou-Rumney, Peggy Guggenheim: A Collector’s Album (Paris: Flammarion, 1996), 164-165. Figure 24: Peggy Guggenheim in the Surrealist room, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice, Italy. Laurence Tacou-Rumney, Peggy Guggenheim: A Collector’s Album (Paris: Flammarion, 1996), 155. Figure 25: Perspective view of reconstructed 3D model of Art of This Century. Frederick Kiesler. 1942 (2004). Peggy Guggenheim and Frederick Kiesler: The Story of Art of This Century (New York: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004), 202. ix Introduction As Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) eloquently described the city of Venice, Italy in her 1979 second edition autobiography Out of This Century: Confessions of An Art Addict: Everything in Venice is not only beautiful but surprising. It is very small, but so complicated because of the S-shaped Grand Canal that you