GEORGE ADAMIDIS

03/06/2014

arhaeologist-museologist

freelance museum educator –museologist, permanent collaborator of the Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia – Thrace, Thessaloniki

Thessis: The activity of the collectors Peggy and Solomon Guggenheim in the framework of the American cultural policy

The paper studies the activity of the American collectors Solomon and Peggy Guggenheim, particularly focusing on the actions and life of the latter. We focus on the way her collection was created as an expression of the policy of the USA to transform into an art and cultural world centre in the late 19^th and the early 20^th century. Her contribution to the art world and her role as an intermediary between European and American art is subject to critical analysis and the importance of her acts toward the emergence of New York as the new post- war cultural capital of the world is also emphasized. Furthermore, we study the mutual cultural exchanges of the two continents, the American tendency to imitate European cultural products and to develop national conscience, discover national identity through the creation of their own art. Finally, we try a small- length reference to the Guggenheim museums all over the world making comments on their aggressive cultural policy, which constitutes a typical example of the American penetration to all parts of contemporary world.