Pegeen Vail Guggenheim (August 18, 1925 – March 1, 1967) was a Swiss-born American painter. Her painting combines two different artistic styles:

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

and naïve art. She was the daughter of the art collector Peggy Guggenheim and the writer Laurence Vail, and the granddaughter of

Benjamin Guggenheim Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. He died aboard when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered. Early life Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, t ...

, who died on the RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912 and painter, Eugene Laurence Vail.

Life

Pegeen Vail Guggenheim was born as Pegeen Jezebel Margaret Vail in Ouchy, Switzerland and spent her childhood in France and England. In 1941, she left Europe for the United States with her mother, Peggy Guggenheim and Max Ernst, who would later become her stepfather. While in the United States, she studied at the prestigious

Finch College Finch College was an undergraduate women's college in Manhattan, New York City. The Finch School opened as a private secondary school for girls in 1900 and became a liberal arts college in 1952. It closed in 1976. Founding Finch was founded ...

. In 1943, she met the French painter Jean Hélion, who, along with his friends

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

and

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

, helped introduce abstract art in the United States. Guggenheim married Hélion in New York in 1946. The couple moved to Paris the same year. They had three children together: Fabrice, David, and Nicolas Hélion. When they divorced in 1956, Pegeen left Paris with her youngest son, Nicolas, to live with her mother in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. In 1957, Guggenheim met the English painter Ralph Rumney in London at the opening of a Francis Bacon exhibition at the Hanover Gallery. Rumney was an English New Realist and one of the founders, along with

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...

and Piero Simondo, of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

. Guggenheim married Rumney in 1958 and gave birth to her fourth son, Sandro Rumney, the same year. In 1959, the couple moved to Paris, where they lived first on the rue du Dragon and then on the Île Saint-Louis. Guggenheim died in Paris on March 1, 1967, after overdosing on medication. She struggled all her life with depression.

Art

During her short career, Guggenheim exhibited her work in New York (including the Museum of Modern Art), Philadelphia, Paris, London, Venice, Padua,

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

, Palm Beach, Vicenza,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Toronto and San Diego. Guggenheim befriended, and was inspired by, some of the greatest intellectuals and artists of the 20th century, including Yves Tanguy, Max Ernst,

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

, Marcel Duchamp, and Jackson Pollock. Her painting combines two different artistic styles:

and naïve art. She was especially inspired in her work by the Surrealist painters that surrounded her during her childhood, including Tanguy, with whom she exchanged some paintings, and Ernst, who was her stepfather for five years, from 1941 to 1946. Her work reflects their influence in the recurrence of improbable elements or situations in her decors or scenes, combined with her own, unique naïve style. In January 1943 and in June 1945, Guggenheim's work was featured in exhibitions dedicated to women: '' Exhibition by 31 Women'', and then "The Women", at the Art of This Century gallery opened by Peggy Guggenheim in New York in October 1942. Her paintings were shown alongside works by Kay Sage,

Leonora Carrington Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 191725 May 2011) was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the surrealist movement o ...

, Lee Krasner, Dorothea Tanning, and

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

. In her painting, Guggenheim often represents couples and families that seem happy and affectionate. Given her tumultuous childhood with her mother, this theme likely represents her search for a stable family life. The characters in Guggenheim's paintings are often taken directly from her own world: we can identify her mother, her husbands, her children, and especially Guggenheim herself. While her work seems cheerful at first glance, a sense of isolation and suffering is often perceptible: a woman crying while giving birth, for example, or characters that are dehumanized. Raymond Queneau wrote the following introduction to one of her exhibition catalogues:
"The world Pegeen creates is somehow more authentic than the real world because it seems closer to heaven on earth. No culpability tarnishes its colors or weighs upon its figures. After his expulsion, Adam with his pure heart traced perfect representations of vengeful bison on hidden cave walls. What was Eve doing? Probably listening to cries that she was guilty. But here, as Prévert says: 'God has been expelled from heaven on earth' and it is 'the new season'. 'A fertile ground- a childlike moon- a hospitable sea- a smiling sun- at the edge of the water- girls embodying the spirit of the times.' Pegeen Hélion belongs to this race of 'ambrosial children'.Raymond Queneau: preface to Pegeen Hélion's exhibition catalogue at the Galeria del Corso.

Life

Art

Notes

References

Further reading