The Guggenheim Museum boasts modernity, the building itself is equally enticing

New York/Praha - The Guggenheim Museum in New York has been at the center of modern art admirers for 60 years, attracting visitors not only for its top-notch artworks but also for the building itself. The works of Picasso, Chagall, Pollock, and Kandinsky can be admired in what is perhaps the most famous building designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which is, in fact, one of the exhibits. The private collection was made accessible thanks to philanthropist Solomon Robert Guggenheim on October 21, 1959, although neither he nor Wright lived to see the museum's opening.

The modern circular building with ribbon windows resembles a hatbox or a flying saucer and is located in a "good address" on the edge of Central Park. The museum's centerpiece is a massive concrete spiral that gives the building its distinctive shape. Inside, it serves as a ramp that visitors walk on, with paintings installed on its walls. Light floods the space through a glass ceiling, whose star-shaped design consists of 13 separate pieces. Initially, the building faced significant resistance from New Yorkers—some found it provocative, while others viewed it as dull.

The Guggenheim Museum was originally focused on the development of non-figurative art but gradually became a gallery of modern art ranging from Impressionism and Post-Impressionism to the latest artistic trends. Retrospective exhibitions of Paul Klee (1967) and Piet Mondrian (1971), as well as perspectives on certain nonconformist figures, such as the German provocateur Joseph Beuys, received a great response. The museum continues to acquire paintings and entire collections, with a valuable set of minimalist art added in 1991.

The history of the collection allegedly began with a bet. Guggenheim (1861 to 1949), a well-known industrialist and one of the richest men of his time, participated in a social dinner in 1928 and whimsically wagered with his neighbor that she could not paint his portrait. That woman was then 38-year-old baroness and painter Hilla von Rebay, who studied art and sympathized with the Dadaists and artists from the Bauhaus school. Rebay sensed an opportunity in the bet to gain an influential patron for her support of modern art.

Her eloquence and charm were successful; soon after their initial meeting, Guggenheim purchased his first abstract paintings. The baroness introduced him to leading artists and later became a driving force behind the growing collection. In 1937, the patron established his own foundation, giving his future collection a solid legal foundation. Two years later, the first Guggenheim Museum of Abstract Art opened its doors in a former New York car dealership. In 1948, the foundation acquired the entire estate of art dealer Karl Nierendorf.

The gallery’s operations were significantly influenced by Thomas M. Messer, an expert of Czech origin who fled from the Nazis (he died in 2013). He led the institution for 27 years starting in 1961, bringing it to the elite. One of his savvy moves was acquiring the collection of Justin Thannhauser, which contained masterpieces of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and early Parisian school (including 34 works by Pablo Picasso). Messer did not forget his compatriots; he purchased the first painting by František Kupka for the museum, introducing the works of Stanislav Kolíbal and Jiří Kolář.

The Guggenheim Foundation also includes other branches. The opening of the museum in Bilbao, Basque Country (1997) received a great response, aided by the extravagant building by Frank Gehry (co-author of Prague's Dancing House), which has become a tourist magnet. Guggenheim's niece Peggy (daughter of his brother Benjamin, who perished in the Titanic disaster) exhibited her collection in one of the Venetian palaces. Plans for a branch in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates have been in place for several years.