As I was inspired by my recent travels to NYC, I thought I'd highlight the Guggenheim Museum today. This was a building that was a goal for me to see in person, but sadly I was not able to go inside. Kudos to my husband and son who made the haul with me, at the end of a long, long day in which we forgot the stroller.
The Guggenheim (Solomon R. Guggeheim Museum) is a contemporary and modern art museum that was completed in 1959 on the upper East side of Central Park. While many are familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie style homes (such as "Falling Water"), it may be surprising to learn that he is also the architect of this spiraling modern building.
Commissioned in 1943 by Solomon R. Guggenheim to house his collection in Manhattan, Wright first envisioned the building as a red marble, inverted ziggurat. Over the course of the next 16 years, his vision was slowly altered as Baroness Hilla von Rebay (the museum's first director and Guggeheim's art-advisor) and James Johnson Sweeney (the museum's second director) expressed disagreements over the building's design concerning such things as the exterior color, gallery lighting, and whether the building would upstage the collection.
For a more thorough history of the building's conception and construction, visit the interactive timelines found at the Guggenheim's website.
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