M arguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim is one of the most important and at the same time most dazzling personalities of the international art scene from the 1930s to 1970s. The eccentric American not only caused a stir with her passion for extravagant sunglasses, which were often larger than her face. The wealthy patron became famous above all for her important collection of modern art. This included works by Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dalí, Paul Klee and Francis Picabia, among others.
Even privately, the American could not keep her lavishly ringed fingers from art. Her affairs and relationships with the greatest artists of the 20th century ranged from Jackson Pollock to Marcel Duchamp. Plenty of conversation material with which Guggenheim certainly turned the nights into day for their illustrious friends. That's probably what director Lisa Immordino Vreeland, who is married to the grandson of another legend: Diana Vreeland, thought too. For her film "Peggy Guggenheim - A Life for Art", the French explored the exciting life of the art icon with all its facets.
The 96-minute documentary film is based on audio recordings of interviews with Guggenheim between 1978 and 1979 that were previously believed to have disappeared. The last recordings were made shortly before Guggenheim's death at the age of 81 in a conversation with her biographer Jacqueline Borgard Weld.
In the film, extensive archive material consisting of images and short video clips underscores Guggenheim's sensitive and spirited character. Well-known figures of the art scene such as Larry Gagosian (art dealer), the art historian John Richards and Lisa Philipps, the director of the New Museum, let the viewer share their very personal memories.
"Peggy Guggenheim - A Life for Art" has been in cinemas since May 5th.
