The American billionaire Peggy Guggenheim (1898–1979) was a major patron of the avant-garde. In 1949, she purchased the Palazzo Venier, where she housed her significant collection of abstract and surrealist art. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection comprises over 200 paintings and sculptures and offers a nearly comprehensive overview of the entire spectrum of modern art.
Here you'll find works by Picasso alongside Miró, Magritte, Kandinsky, de Chirico, Mondrian, Pollock, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Henry Moore, Modigliani, Giacometti, and many others.
The Angel of the City, 1948
Image creditAngel in the City
A Scandal You Can Screw On and Off.
The house and garden are filled with sculptures, including what is arguably Marino Marini's most provocative work, *Angelo della città*. It depicts a horseman sitting tall on a horse, fully embracing his masculinity.
As Guggenheim recounts in her memoirs, Marini had the phallus custom-made so that it could be "screwed on and off at will."
Whether it was a scandal or simply clever marketing - the Guggenheim Museum is one of the most visited attractions in Venice.
