Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944), Cossacks ( Section for Composition IV ), 1910–11. Oil on canvas, 94.5 x 130.2 cm © Tate, Presented by Mrs Hazel McKinley, 1938

In the spring of 2026, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection presents the first and largest exhibition ever held in a museum setting, celebrating the London adventure of Peggy Guggenheim and her first gallery, Guggenheim Jeune , which operated in London between 1938 and 1939. Over the course of eighteen months, from January 1938 to June 1939, Guggenheim Jeune became a hub for the avant-garde movements of the time, renowned for promoting and showcasing local and international artists, many of whom were associated with the artistic trends of abstraction and Surrealism. The exhibition sheds light on a crucial period that helped define Peggy Guggenheim as a collector and patron, highlighting the network of influences and friendships—from Marcel Duchamp to Mary Reynolds to Samuel Beckett—that shaped her vision. Guggenheim Jeune hosted over twenty exhibitions, including Vasily Kandinsky’s first solo exhibition in London, a monographic exhibition of Jean Cocteau, the first group exhibition in the UK dedicated to collage, and a scandalous exhibition of contemporary sculpture.

Peggy Guggenheim in London. The Birth of a Collector brings together key works from those pioneering exhibitions, as well as similar works from the same period by artists such as Eileen Agar, Barbara Hepworth, Rita Kernn-Larsen, Henry Moore, Vasily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Cedric Morris, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and others. Archival materials will also be included, testifying to a period of intense experimentation and cultural ferment, just before the outbreak of World War II. After Venice, the exhibition will travel to the Royal Academy of Arts in London in the fall of 2026, and to the Guggenheim Museum New York in the spring of 2027.

In Venice, the exhibition is made possible thanks to the generous support of The KHR McNeely Family Foundation and Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely.

Curated by Gražina Subelytė, Curator, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and Simon Grant, Guest Curator

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, April 25 – October 19, 2026

Royal Academy of Arts, 21 November 2026 – 14 March 2027

Guggenheim New York, April 16, 2027 – September 12, 2027

Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943), Equilibrium (Equilibre), 1932. Oil on canvas, 41.7 x 33.5 cm © Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth

Peggy Guggenheim at Hayford Hall in 1934 

Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944), Dominant Curve (Courbe dominante), April 1936. Oil on canvas, 129.2 x 194.3 cm © Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection

Rita Kernn-Larsen (1904–1998), Self-Portrait (Know Thyself) (Selvportræt [Kend dig selv]), 1937. Oil on canvas, 40 x 45 cm © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, Acquired thanks to Penny Borda, Lewis and Laura Kruger and the Guggenheim Circle, 2013

Rita Kernn Larsen, Beyond the Looking Glass, 1937. Oil on canvas, 120×84 cm © Kunstmuseet i Tonder, Denmark

Yves Tanguy and Peggy Guggenheim at Yew Tree Cottage in 1938.

Wolfgang Paalen (1905-1959), Octopus Sky (Ciel de pieuvre), 1938. Oil and candle smoke on canvas, 97 x 130 cm. Private collection, courtesy Malingue SA, Paris

Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), Composition No. 1 with Gray and Red 1938 / Composition with Red 1939, 1938–39. Oil on canvas, 105.2 x 102.3 cm © Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York)

Gisèle Freund (1908-2000), Herbert Read and Peggy Guggenheim, 1939 (print 1977). Dye transfer print, 46 x 35 cm © Peggy Guggenheim Collection Archive, Venice, Purchase thanks to Ikona Photo Gallery, Venice, 1988