Charleston is home to many firsts, but it’s a little-known fact that the historic city was home to the first formal exhibition of Solomon R. Guggenheim’s modern art collection. The exhibition was presented at the Gibbes Museum of Art, the South’s oldest art museum building, in 1936 and again in 1938, 21 years before Guggenheim’s collection found a permanent home in today’s renowned museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
This fall, 80 years later, the Gibbes will present a special exhibition titled Realm of the Spirit: Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection and the Gibbes Museum of Art from October 22, 2016 to January 15, 2017. Organized by The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York and featuring 35 works by celebrated modern artists including Marc Chagall, Vasily Kandinsky and Pablo Picasso, Realm of the Spirit revisits the Guggenheim’s fascinating – and largely unknown – history with the Lowcountry.
“We are honored to share much of the art featured in the original exhibitions with visitors to the Gibbes today in Realm of the Spirit. Through both figurative and abstract works, this selection from the Guggenheim collection emphasizes the timeless founding vision of the museum and the belief that non-objective art conveys the spiritual joy of creation” said Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation.
Guggenheim’s ties to the Lowcountry
After purchasing a home along the Charleston Battery and a property in nearby Yemassee in the 1920s, Solomon and Irene Guggenheim quickly became prominent figures in the Charleston community. Before becoming the first director of the Guggenheim Museum, art advisor Hilla Rebay curated the 1936 and 1938 exhibitions, bringing international attention to Charleston and record attendance levels for the Gibbes Museum of Art. Preserving the character of the exhibitions, Realm of the Spirit occupies the exact building of the original showing, and adopts their specified arrangement by dividing the works into “non-objective paintings” – abstract art that had no ties to the visible world – and “paintings with an object.”
“With Realm of the Spirit, the Guggenheim and the Gibbes revisit the important intersection of our institutional histories,” said Angela Mack, executive director of the Gibbes Museum of Art. “This exhibit is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and offers visitors an authentic viewing experience that wouldn’t be possible without the major restoration work that has taken place at the Gibbes.”
The Gibbes recently reopened to the public after a two-year, $14 million renovation to restore the 111-year-old building to its original 1905 layout and programming. In addition to the 35 paintings and works on paper from the Guggenheim founding collection, the exhibition will feature archival materials and historic photographs that document the significant history of the Gibbes-Guggenheim connection, as well as a fully illustrated exhibition catalog.
Rudolf Bauer (1889-1953)
Space, 1932
Ink, watercolor, pastel, and graphite on paper
16 x 19 inches (40.6 x 48.3 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift
41.146
Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Paris Through the Window, 1913
Paris par la fenêtre
Oil on canvas
53 9/16 x 55 7/8 inches (136 x 141.9 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift
37.438
Albert Gleizes (1881-1953)
On Brooklyn Bridge, 1917
Sur Brooklyn Bridge
Oil on canvas
63 3/4 x 51 inches (161.8 x 129.5 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection
37.489
Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944)
Composition 8, July 1923
Komposition 8
Oil on canvas
55 1/8 x 79 1/8 inches (140 x 201 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift
37.262
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Accordionist, Céret, summer 1911
L'accordéoniste
Oil on canvas
51 1/4 x 35 1/4 inches (130.2 x 89.5 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift
37.537
5/19/2016
Hilla Rebay (1890-1967)
Improvisation, 1918
Paper collage, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper,
mounted on
newspaper
sheet: 11 3/8 x 8 3/4 inches (28.9 x 22.2 cm); mount: 12
5/16 x 9 5/8 inches
(31.3 x 24.4 cm)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift
37.381
