The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, also known as The Guggenheim, is a private art museum in New York City USA. The building is home to the abstract art collection of Solomon since he started collection art dating back since the 1920s. Let’s explore the museum today with a walkthrough.
Furthermore, the gallery started out as a private art collection which thereafter was opened to the public. It is located on the affluent 5th Avenue district in New York city where the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York 5th Avenue Apple store sits too.
Also, the iconic white museum-building features an outstanding display of 20th-century architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Also, it sits at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street. Since museum’s opening in 1939, the museum was known as the “Museum of Non-Objective Painting”. It was the Guggenheim foundation’s first venue for the display of art.
A modern building
Notably, the Guggenheim museum adopted its current name from 1952. That was three years after the death of its founder Solomon R. Guggenheim. The museum is a popular tourist site with about 1 million visitors visiting annually. Hence, peak travel months usually see the galleries rather packed with tourists. The arts museum is a private one and one highly recognizable for its exterior as well as it vast interior spiral inclined walkway.
Moreover, don’t let the relatively small exterior of the museum fool you. It is vastly spacious on the inside. Also, the cylindrical-shaped building is seemingly wider at the top than at the bottom. Navigating the galleries is straight forward. It goes around in a continuous inclined ramp which serves all gallery floors of the private museum. The interiors of the building are lit by a ceiling skylight in the day. This layout gives the Gugeenheim the conceived nickname as a “temple of the spirit”.
Furthermore, the museum galleries are easy to navigate in a linear fashion going up and down back where you come from. The wide walkways are also good for crowds. There are spaces in the galleries within to view the artworks without obstructing the common walkways. There is also elevator access if need be, you can start by going up to the top floor via elevator and make your way down the ramp.
A modern showcase
Additionally, artwork on display comprises of a mix of wall-mounted paintings and free-standing sculptures. There is also a small gallery space in the ground floor housing more conventional framed artworks and also used as an event or temporary gallery space.
Also, items on display are mostly modern artworks, a permanent place to showcase Solomon R. Guggenheim historical abstract art collection. Such art in those days are more revolutionary and a departure from the norms of canvas type portraits and scenes which rule the idea of European-style paintings even up to the 17th century.
It was not till the 20th-century where we start to see the acceptance of alternative types of art. Examples in particular are modern and abstract art. The artwork genre were largely popularised by legendary Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and Dutch painter Van Gogh.
Moreover, art and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. There is a lot to be interpreted from some are blobs on a canvas, a splatter and spread of paint on a white space. Hence it does intrigue your mind in what you see of the artworks.
Also, the artworks are displayed with clean white backgrounds which brings emphasis to the million-dollar private artworks on display here.
All in all, you are good for the Gugeenheim Museum for about 2 hours tops. Like most museums in New York city, admission requires a paid ticket. Ticket prices ranges from US$18–25 per adult It is one of the few most popular private art museums in New York City.
[…] along 5th Avenue will eventually bring you to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Opened in 1959, it’s a modern arts museum housing various of impressionist, […]