Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
A Guggenheim in Venice
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
An unfinished palazzo in Venice + a Guggenheim + modern art.
That can only be a good thing! In this unusual Palazzo, you can admire modern art from Picasso to Pollock!
Opening hours:
Monday, Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00 – 18.00 h
Closed Tuesdays
Online ticket: EUR 18.50
My Rating:
The Positives:
A must for all modern art fans. Big names await you in a fantastic setting.
The Negatives:
I can't think of anything negative.
Tip:
Treat yourself to the audio guide for an even better introduction to the collection.
Last Modified: 21.04.2026 | Céline
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Monday, Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00 – 1800 h
Closed Tuesdays
Prices
EUR 9 for students under 26, children under 18 (ID required)
Free entry for children under 10, people with disabilities + accompanying person
+ EUR 1 for online booking.
Booking through us is EUR 1.50 more expensive, but you would be supporting our work on the site. But with App-Audio guide!
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Guided Tours
Daily presentations in the gallery and garden about the life of Peggy Guggenheim + the permanent collection.
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People with Disabilities
Wheelchair Access:
Wheelchairs are available free of charge to visitors at the museum.
Double Meaning: A program for blind and visually impaired visitors. A tactile journey through the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Selected works have been reproduced on relief panels and technical sheets in Braille.
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Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Photo Gallery
What is there
to see?
Peggy Guggenheim was a collector through and through, famously adhering to the motto: “Buy a painting every day.” But her collecting only lasted into the 1960s — not due to lack of funds, but because she disliked Pop Art and felt the soaring prices for contemporary art were unjustified. So, no Warhol here 🙂
What you will find, however, is a wealth of masterpieces. Peggy was friends with many leading artists and spent periods in Paris, forging important connections with Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray. In 1940, she fled to the USA with Max Ernst, funding his escape; they married a year later, though the marriage lasted only two years.
Before World War II, she built the core of her collection for a mere $40,000, acquiring works by Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Giacometti, Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Pablo Picasso — all of which are on display. She also had a significant connection with Jackson Pollock, featured in the 2000 documentary Pollock.
Altogether, Peggy Guggenheim’s collection — and the fascinating relationships behind it — offers an unforgettable experience.
Peggy Guggenheim
A bit of History
Peggy Guggenheim (1898–1979) was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, the famous Jewish-American businessman who tragically perished on the Titanic in 1912. Her uncle was the industrialist and renowned art collector Solomon R. Guggenheim, from whom she may have inherited her passion for art.
Peggy soon distanced herself from her family and received her inheritance — relatively modest for the Guggenheims, a “mere” $450,000 (still a considerable sum at the time). She used it to travel across Europe, mainly Paris and London, where she began collecting art and opening galleries.
The outbreak of World War II forced her to flee back to the United States, naturally taking her precious collection with her.
As soon as it was possible to return to Europe, she did — and her destination was Venice. In 1948, she exhibited her collection at the Biennale and decided to make the city her home. She purchased the unfinished Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal. Dating from the 18th century, it consisted of only a single floor, as the previous owners had been unable to complete it for financial reasons. A model of the architectural design can still be seen today at the Museo Correr.
The palace’s unusual design likely appealed to Peggy even more! Attached to it was a garden — now the sculpture garden — where Peggy, along with her dogs, is laid to rest.
Initially, she used the palace as her residence, opening it to visitors during the summers from 1951 onwards. In 1969, she bequeathed her collection and the Palazzo to the foundation of her uncle, Solomon R. Guggenheim.
Peggy Guggenheim passed away in 1979 at the age of 81.
By 1980, the museum — the Peggy Guggenheim Collection — had opened to the public.
Official Website: www.guggenheim-venice.it
Text and Image Rights: © Céline Mülich, 2023–2026
With permission from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
