Collection on the Guggenheim family

Collection Overview

The Guggenheim family refers to a number of descendants of Meyer Guggenheim who were known for their successes in mining and smelting, and later for their philanthropy in diverse areas such as aviation and modern art - for example the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory; the Guggenheim museums in New York, Bilbao, Venice and Berlin; and I. M. Pei's Guggenheim Pavilion at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. The following is a brief summary of the family's history.

The Guggenheim family emigrated from Lengnau, Switzerland to the United States in 1848. Five of the brothers participated in the business activities of the family: Daniel, Murry, Isaac, Solomon, and Simon. The two younger brothers were Ben and William. Sadly, Ben lost his life on the Titanic in 1912. However, he left a daughter, Peggy Guggenheim, who became a well known figure in the modern art world. Daniel Guggenheim (DG) became the head of the family in 1905 and was an avid promoter of aviation and rocketry. He funded several aeronautic institute programs at various universities around the country and his foundation continues to provide grants in the fields of flight and aeronautics. DG's son Harry Frank Guggenheim (HFG), the founder of Newsday, also created his own foundation, The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. HFG's Foundation's primary focus is the study of nature and the causes of aggression. HFG also served as president of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (SRGF), which Solomon R. Guggenheim (SRG) established in 1937. Edmund Alfred Guggenheim (EAG), Murry's son and cousin to HFG, became president of the Murry and Leonie Guggenheim Dental Clinic in 1939, where EAG remained until his death in 1972. Olga Hirsch Guggenheim, wife of former 1907 Colorado senator Simon Guggenheim, had two sons with her husband, both of whom died young. She and her husband went on to devote their resources to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, both during their lifetimes and in bequests after their deaths. In 1937 SRG, scion of the wealthy Guggenheim family, established the SRGF and set up the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, with several hundred pieces of artwork from his own collection. SRG associated SRGF with names such as Rudolf Bauer, Wassily Kandisky, Frank Lloyd Wright and Hilla Rebay to create the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. At one time, the SRGF was chaired by SRG's grandson Peter Lawson-Johnson.

Scope and Content Note

Folder List