The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is a modern art museum in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Peggy Guggenheim’s former home on the Grand Canal in Venice’s Dorsoduro district. Its intimate galleries bring together European and American art from the first half of the 20th century, with works by Picasso, Pollock, Dalí and Kandinsky. Look for paintings and sculpture spanning Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, then step into the sculpture garden, where Peggy Guggenheim and her dogs are buried. An audioguide can add context to the works and the collection.
Palazzo Venier dei Leoni
The collection is housed in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, a low palazzo on the Grand Canal in Dorsoduro. The Venier family began rebuilding their residence in 1759, intending a much larger palace, but the project stopped after the first storey when the family ran into financial difficulties. The unfinished building is sometimes called Il Palazzo Nonfinito, or the Unfinished Palace.
Peggy Guggenheim made the palazzo her Venetian home and lived there from 1949 until her death in 1979. She had moved her collection to Venice after falling in love with the city in 1948. The museum opened to the public in 1951, and the collection is now displayed in the rooms where she once lived. Its domestic scale gives the galleries a different feel from a vast museum hall.
A collection of modern art
The works span European and American art from the first half of the 20th century. Many were acquired by Guggenheim, who supported artists and collected work from the 1930s through the 1950s. The collection includes paintings and sculpture associated with Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism.
Look for works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock, Dalí, Magritte, Max Ernst and Alexander Calder. Other artists represented include Piet Mondrian, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee and Italian Futurists such as Umberto Boccioni and Giacomo Balla. The range makes the visit useful for seeing how different modern movements sit alongside one another, from geometric forms to surreal imagery and abstraction.
Temporary exhibitions are also part of the museum programme. Their subjects and displays change, so check the museum’s website if you are planning around a particular show. An audioguide is available for visitors who want more background on the artworks and the people who collected them.
The sculpture garden
The Nasher Sculpture Garden provides an outdoor counterpart to the galleries. Its works include pieces by Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Isamu Noguchi and Yoko Ono, set among paths and planted areas. Mario Merz’s blue neon work is another detail to look for in the garden.
Peggy Guggenheim is buried there alongside her dogs. The garden is part of the visit, not simply a route between rooms, so allow time to see its sculptures and pause among the plantings. The museum café is also in a leafy, shaded garden, with views towards the canal.
Häufige Fragen
Where is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection?
It is in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, beside the Grand Canal.
What can you see at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection?
The museum displays 20th-century European and American art, including works by Picasso, Pollock, Dalí and Kandinsky, as well as sculpture in the garden.
Is there a sculpture garden?
Yes. The Nasher Sculpture Garden contains works by artists including Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Isamu Noguchi and Yoko Ono. Peggy Guggenheim and her dogs are buried there.
Does the collection have an audioguide?
An audioguide is available to provide context on the artworks and the collection.
