Solomon Robert Guggenheim Biography

Solomon Robert Guggenheim

After studying in Zurich, he became a partner in the Swiss needlework importing business started by his father, Meyer Guggenheim. Upon his return to the U.S., he worked in several offices of the family's mining business and founded the Yukon Gold Company in Alaska. He retired in 1919 to devote his full attention to collecting modern art, establishing in 1937 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to promote public appreciation of modern art. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, established in New York City in 1937, moved to a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1959.