Solomon R. Guggenheim
| Solomon R. Guggenheim | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Solomon Robert Guggenheim February 2, 1861 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | November 3, 1949 (aged 88) Long Island, New York |
| Occupation | businessman, art collector, philanthropist |
| Known for |
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum |
| Spouse(s) | Irene Rothschild (m. 1895) |
| Children | Eleanor (1896–1992), Gertrude (1898–1966), Barbara (1904–1985) |
| Family | Peggy Guggenheim (niece) |
Solomon Robert Guggenheim (February 2, 1861 – November 3, 1949) was an American businessman, art collector and philanthropist. He is best known for establishing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
Born into a wealthy mining family, Guggenheim founded the Yukon Gold Company in Alaska, among other business interests. He began collecting art in the 1890s, and after World War I, he retired from his business to pursue full-time art collecting. Eventually, under the guidance of artist Hilla von Rebay, he focused on the collection of modern and contemporary art, creating an important collection by the 1930s and opening his first museum in 1939.
Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Meyer Guggenheim and brother of Simon, Benjamin, Daniel and four other siblings.
Following studies in Switzerland at the Concordia Institute in Zürich, he returned to the United States to work in the family mining business, later founding the Yukon Gold Company in Alaska. In 1891, he turned around the Compañia de la Gran Fundición Nacional Mexicana. He married Irene Rothschild in 1895. His children were Eleanor (1896–1992) (later Lady Castle Stewart), Gertrude (1898–1966) and Barbara Guggenheim (1904–1985).
He began collecting works of the old masters in the 1890s. He retired from his business in 1919 to devote more time to art collecting and in 1926, met artist Hilla Rebay. In 1930, they visited Wassily Kandinsky’s studio in Dessau, Germany, and Guggenheim began to purchase Kandinsky's work. The same year, Guggenheim began to display the collection to the public at his apartment in the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Guggenheim's purchases continued with the works of Rudolf Bauer, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger and László Moholy-Nagy.
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