Venice is going to be the ‘art city’ of 2026, with the 61st edition of La Biennale di Venezia opening on the 9th May AND a few weeks before that the opening of the latest exhibition at the ‘Peggy Guggenheim Collection’ in Venice.

The show entitled ‘The Making of a Collector’ is curated by the super-talented Grazina Subelyte and will focus on Peggy’s London Gallery known as ‘Guggenheim Jeune’ which opened in Cork St, Mayfair in January 1938. The Gallery was a beacon for avant garde and surrealist artists of the time. Peggy hosted the first solo show of Kandinsky at the Cork St Gallery. ‘The Making of a Collector’ runs from April to October in Venice. Then it moves to The Royal Academy, London where it opens in mid November. It’s final port of call is The Guggenheim, New York in 2027.

Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector – opens 25th April, 2026

On 25th April, 2026 – The Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice unveils a brand new exhibition about Peggy’s art gallery in London, which she ran from January 1938 to June, 1939. The gallery known as ‘Guggenheim Jeune‘ was located on Cork St, Mayfair (still an important gallery area today). Peggy’s gallery hosted numerous exhibitions during it’s short life, including Vasily Kandinsky’s first solo show in London. I’m sure that this new show, with a focus on the avant-garde movements of the era, especially surrealism and abstract art will be excellent. There will be works from Salvador Dalí, Barbara Hepworth, Kandinsky, Rita Kernn-Larsen, Piet Mondrian, Henry Moore, Cedric Morris and Sophie Taeuber-Arp on display.

I’ve been a big fan of the curator Grazina Subelyte for a while now. She curated the superb ‘Surrealism and Magic’ exhibition in 2022. The show which was quite brilliant featured Leonora Carrington (a favourite of mine), Max Ernst, Leonor Fini and Yves Tanguy – some of the art shown, including the famous Cat Woman by Leonora Carrington were being shown in Venice for the first time. You can read the full article here. Surrealism and Magic – Venice

Given Peggy’s influence on modern art and her direct involvement in the Biennale event, where she generously showed her private collection in 1948, it is fitting that her work as a collector and patron ten years earlier, whilst in London, should be considered in Venice at the time of the 61st Biennale.

_{Letters above (The Guggenheim, Venice) June, 1948 discuss Peggy’s collection being shown at 1948 Biennale – Peggy in Delphos Gown, designed in Venice}

The impact that Peggy had on contemporary art in Venice was enormous. The photo above right shows five centuries of art in one frame, taken in the courtyard garden at Peggy’s Palazzo. If you look carefully you can see Ca’ Dario palazzo top left (16th Century), then the Dome of Salute (17th Century), next there’s Peggy’s palazzo – 18th C and 19th Century, and finally 20th Century – Anish Kapoor sculpture (black granite) and La Vache (Alexander Calder) – bright red.

_{Kandinsky painting ‘Courbe Dominante’ 1936 will be on display in Venice. Right, Peggy at home with the doggies.}

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Looking forward to a great year for art in Venice.

EXCITING NEWS – I’m running a small group tour to Venice for The Biennale, 21-25 June with some wonderful special visits, including The Guggenheim – here are the details: Venice Biennale 21-25 June, 2026 / for more details: janet@grand-tourist.com

Here’s a little more from The Guggenheim Venice website: The Guggenheim, Venice

• Other articles that I’ve written about The Biennale and Peggy Guggenheim:
• Peggy Guggenheim – Modern Art in Venice
• Venice – Biennale 2022
• Venice – La Biennale 2024
• Venice Biennale 2026 – In Minor Keys…

Written by Janet Simmonds – www.educated-traveller.com

March 2026