Irene and Solomon R. Guggenheim Estates papers
Collection Overview
New River Collieries Company.
Parke-Bernet Galleries.
Plaza Hotel (New York, N.Y.).
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Wildenstein and Company (New York, N.Y.).
Whelpley, Medley, G.B. (Gordon Brit), 1893- ?.
Biographical Note
Irene Rothschild Guggenheim (IRG) was born in 1868 to Henry v. Rothschild and Josephine Wolf Rothschild. In 1895, she married Solomon R. Guggenheim (SRG) and they had three daughters, Elenor May, Gertrude Renee, and Barbara Josephine. Because of her interest in art, IRG convinced her husband to start collecting paintings, mostly American and Italian landscapes and Italian, Dutch and German primitives. IRG was known for the charities that she contributed to through out her life. Such charities included the Brightside Day Nursery and Kindergarten and the associated Cannon Street Health Center. IRG also donated to orchestral societies and some of New York's art museums. At the time of her death in 1954, she left a net estate of $16,635,502. Included in this amount was $13,664,794 left by SRG. The IRG estate was distributed among her three daughters and their children.Solomon R. Guggenheim (SRG) was born on February 2, 1861 to Meyer Guggenheim and Barbara Myers Guggenheim. He attended the Concordia Institute in Zurich, Switzerland and at age twenty, he became a partner at M. Guggenheim's Sons. SRG became joined the Board of Directors to the American Smelting and Refining Company when his family acquired the company in 1901. He was also President of the Braden Copper Company in Chile, Director of the Chile Copper Company, the Utah Copper Company, and Guggenheim Exploration Company, and founded the Yukon Gold Company in Alaska.
SRG acquired many different properties during his lifetime. These included a suite at the Plaza Hotel, an estate in Sands Point, New York, Elberton, New Jersey, Charleston, South Carolina, a ranch in Idaho, and a shooting lodge in Scotland. SRG began collecting paintings when he married his wife, Irene Rothschild, in 1895. He began collecting modern art on a grand scale when he met and befriended Baroness Hilla Rebay von Erhenweisen. In 1937, he established the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. At the time of his death, SRG left $8,000,000 to the Foundation that he created, $2,000,000 of which went to the construction of the SRGM. The remainder of the $8,000,000 balance went towards SRGM endowment, maintenance of the Museum, and promotion of education and public appreciation of art. In addition, parts of his estate were left to his widow, Irene, and their three children.
Bibliography
Scope and Content Note
The Irene and Solomon R. Guggenheim Estates papers covers the years 1905-1959 (bulk 1926-1955) and documents the individual estates of Irene and Solomon R. Guggenheim. The majority of papers in this collection were created prior to and at the beginning stages of the establishment of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The collection consists of Irene and Solomon R. Guggenheim's interest, ownership, and property, mainly relating to their art collections and residences. The collection includes: acquisition information; auction catalogs; correspondence; appraisals; inventories; negatives; the last wills and testament of the Guggenheims; newspaper clippings; and sales receipts. The collection is arranged into two series: Series 1. Irene R. Guggenheim Estate; and Series 2. Solomon R. Guggenheim Estate. Series 1. Irene R. Guggenheim Estate contains information about the property and possessions of Irene R. Guggenheim. Series 2. Solomon R. Guggenheim Estate contains documentation of Solomon R. Guggenheim's property and possessions.
Series Descriptions
Folder List
| Box | Folder | Title | Date | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 709846 | Acquisitions: Correspondence (Restricted) | 1926-1937 | |||||||||||
| Auction Catalogs | |||||||||||||
| 709846 | Furniture and Decorations | 1951 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | English and Other Furniture and Decorations | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | English and Other Period Furniture and Decorations | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | French Furniture Oriental and Aubusson Rugs and Decorations | 1950 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | French Provincial Furniture and Decorations and Georgian Furniture | 1956 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Furniture and Appointments Porcelain, Glass, Bibelots | 1951 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Louis XV and Louis XVI Furniture and Objects d'Art | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Modern French Paintings | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Notable English and French Furniture of the 18th Century and Georgian Silver Belonging to the Estate of the Late Mrs. Solomon R. Guggenheim | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Vienna, Meissen, Dresden and Other Porcelain Furniture and Decorations | 1951 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Bequests (Restricted) | 1949-1954 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Estate of Irene R. Guggenheim: Personal Property: Correspondence and Appraisal Information (Restricted) | 1955, 1956 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Estate of Rothschild, V. Henry (Restricted) | 1926, 1944 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Insurance Policies: Correspondence (Restricted) | 1930-1939 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Inventory and Appraisal (Restricted) | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Launching of the S.S. Caribbean: Correspondence | 1942, 1943 | |||||||||||
| Negatives | |||||||||||||
| 709846 | Francesco Di Giorgio Martini, Madonna and Child and Two Saints (Inventory #1260) | 1948 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Master of Alkmaar, St. Ursula and One of Her Virgins (Inventory #1242) | 1948 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Master of Magdalene Legende, Small Triptych of Madonna and Child, St. Helen, and St. John (Inventory #1250) | 1948 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Sir Thomas Lawrence, Portrait of Lady Marie Sommerville (Inventory #1266) | 1948 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Unknown (School of Pietro Lorenzett, Siena?) Italian, Madonna and Child of 14th or Early 15th Century (Inventory #1272) | 1948 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Newspaper Clippings | 1954 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Parke-Bernet Galleries: Sale of Estate (Restricted) | 1955 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | The Solomon R. Guggenheim Pictures Which Came from the Country House and from the Apartment of Mrs. Solomon R. Guggenheim: Inventories (Restricted) | 1959, 1961 | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | Title | Date | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 709846 | "The Adventurous Angles" by Peter Lyon: Article | 1959 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Amended Certificate of Incorporation of the New River Collieries Company | 1921 | |||||||||||
| Appraised Inventories (Restricted) | |||||||||||||
| 709846 | Household Furnishings Belonging to Solomon R. Guggenheim at "The Plaza" in New York City | 1927 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Inventory and Appraisal of Certain Paintings Designated by Mr. and Mrs. Solomon R. Guggenheim and Contained on the Premises at Sand Point, Long Island, New York | 1943 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Inventory and Appraisal of Paintings Belonging to Solomon R. Guggenheim Contained in Rooms 1003, 1010, 1011 Carnegie Hall Studios and in Apartment at Plaza Hotel | 1939 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Residential Furnishings and Equipment Belonging to Solomon R. Guggenheim at Sands Point, Port Washington, Long Island | 1936 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Bauer, Rudolf: Sales Receipt (Restricted) | 1938 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Copy of a Certified Copy of Certificate of Incorporation of Guggenheim Exploration Company | 1912 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Elgebar Corporation Insurance Inventory (Restricted) | 1936 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Last Will and Testament | 1951 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | The Lucerne Fine Art Company, Ltd.: Correspondence (Restricted) | 1925-1928 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Luncheon in Honor of Mr. Solomon R. Guggenheim Presentation of Decoration of Commander of the Order "Al Merito" Bestowed Upon Him by Government of Chile | 1945 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Mortgage Deed of Residence in Palm Beach to Irma B. Levy (Restricted) | 1942, 1943 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Oehme, Julius: Correspondence and Sales Receipts (Restricted) | 1905, 1906, 1910 | |||||||||||
| Sale of Residences (Restricted) | |||||||||||||
| Sale of Palm Beach Residence | |||||||||||||
| 709846 | Correspondence | 1943-1949 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Survey of Property | 1941 | |||||||||||
| Sale of Residence at No. 9 East Battery, Charleston, South Carolina | |||||||||||||
| 709846 | Appraised Inventory | 1949-1952 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Correspondence | 1939 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Solomon R. Guggenheim, Plaza Hotel Depreciating Value as of January 1939 (Restricted) | 1950? | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Wildenstein & Co. Inc.: Correspondence (Restricted) | 1926-1928 | |||||||||||
| Whelpley, Medley G.B. (Restricted) | |||||||||||||
| 709846 | Correspondence | 1931-1949 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Newspaper Clippings | 1931 | |||||||||||
| 709846 | Report of the Fixed Nitrogen Task Committee of the National Engineers Committee of the Engineer Joint Council | 1945 | |||||||||||
