Peggy Guggenheim in London: Birth of a Collector — Exhibition at the

Peggy Guggenheim in London: Birth of a Collector

Dates: 25 April – 19 October 2026

Venue: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

This exhibition reconstructs the short but pivotal activity of the Guggenheim Jeune gallery on Cork Street (1938–1939) and explores how Peggy Guggenheim developed her identity as a collector. In just eighteen months the gallery introduced a bold, experimental program that influenced the British art scene.

The show brings together approximately one hundred works — paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs and archival documents — to map the exhibitions and projects staged during that period.

• Highlights: the first UK solo show of Vasily Kandinsky; exhibitions on Jean Cocteau; surveys dedicated to collage; a controversial contemporary sculpture show; and an exhibition of children's art including an early painting by Lucian Freud.
• Network: Peggy's circle included key modernist figures such as Marcel Duchamp, Samuel Beckett and Jean Arp.
• Content: a broad selection of works and archival materials documenting Guggenheim's London years.

Selected artists:

• Piet Mondrian
• Vasily Kandinsky
• Henry Moore
• Sophie Taeuber-Arp
• Yves Tanguy
• Jean Cocteau
• Lucian Freud (early work)

Curators: Gražina Subelytė and Simon Grant. Catalogue: Marsilio Arte.

The exhibition highlights how the London experience shaped Peggy Guggenheim's international approach to modern art, foreshadowing the museum project that later found its home in Venice. After Venice, the show will travel to the Royal Academy of Arts (21 November 2026 – 14 March 2027) and to the Guggenheim Museum New York (spring 2027).

For visiting information, check the Peggy Guggenheim Collection website for opening hours, ticketing and related programs.