Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection occupies Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, a low, unfinished 18th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, Italy. The American heiress and patron Peggy Guggenheim lived here from 1949 until her death in 1979, and she opened the house to visitors during her lifetime. Her collection is now among the most important in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. The galleries cover Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism, Abstract Expressionism and abstraction more broadly, with works by Picasso, Braque, Ernst, Magritte, Dali, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Pollock and Brancusi, alongside pieces by Alexander Calder and Giacomo Balla. Many of the paintings were acquired directly from the artists or their dealers, and Guggenheim's own portrait and connections to the artists give the display a personal character. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions in the Nasher Sculpture Garden and adjacent rooms. Outside, the sculpture garden and terrace on the Grand Canal hold works by artists such as Henry Moore, Marino Marini, whose bronze rider faces the water, and Alberto Giacometti. Guggenheim is buried in a corner of the garden beside her dogs. The terrace is one of the few places in Venice where visitors can stand at canal level beside a private palazzo, and it is a favourite spot for photographs of boat traffic on the canal. A visit typically takes about two hours. The museum is open Wednesday to Monday from 10AM to 6PM and is closed on Tuesdays. Weekday mornings tend to be the quietest, while late morning and early afternoon draw the most visitors. Adult admission is around €18, with reduced rates for students and seniors and free entry for children under ten. Photography is restricted in some areas, so signs should be checked in each gallery. The nearest vaporetto stops are Accademia and Salute on Line 1.