All posts tagged: Guggenheim

Guggenheim Museum Announces Layoffs Amid Financial Struggles

Guggenheim Museum Announces Layoffs Amid Financial Struggles

Published by skeptic

Another round of layoffs has hit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, as the institution struggles to balance its books in an era of dwindling tourism and rising costs, the New York Times reported Friday. The museum said it was cutting 20 jobs—7 percent of its staff—across multiple departments. Senior leadership, however, will remain untouched, and curators have been spared from the cuts. The move comes despite efforts to steady the ship under Mariët Westermann, who took over as director and chief executive in 2024. Ticket prices have gone up, exhibition schedules have been trimmed down, and the museum’s endowment has grown—but not enough. “Our overall financial picture is not where it needs to be,” Westermann wrote in a staff letter, describing the layoffs as part of a broader “reorganization” meant to improve efficiency. Related Articles This marks the third round of job cuts at the Guggenheim in five years, following two previous waves that saw more than 30 staff members let go, including two deputy directors. The museum’s reliance on international tourism—a sector …

Inside the Fight Over Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd’s 0 Million Estate

Inside the Fight Over Guggenheim Partners CIO Scott Minerd’s $400 Million Estate

Published by Sam

In Minerd’s last few years, he favored gingham shirts and purple ties. Often his complexion was pallid, eyelids slightly drooping and rapidly blinking, his slightly oversized lower lip giving him the appearance of a pouty man-boy. At one point he embraced a new look, sporting Moschino-style tortoiseshell glasses and a ginger dye job. “Who is that, Elton John?” cracked a colleague watching Minerd on CNBC. But just a few months before his death, he appeared to gain weight, looking more obese than muscular. His gravelly, halting voice made him sound like a man whose tie was too tight. He sometimes appeared unhealthy, and he was. Minerd suffered from scoliosis, heart disease, high cholesterol, and a red blood cell disorder requiring regular treatment, according to friends, his death certificate, and court filings. There was a consolation prize for Minerd’s “stepchild” status at Guggenheim: the rise of Scott Minerd, Wall Street influencer. Boehly, Schwartz, and Walter believed in staying off the media radar screen, prompting reporters to call Guggenheim “mysterious.” When one member of top leadership granted …

The Guggenheim Foundation Rebrands and Adopts New Font

The Guggenheim Foundation Rebrands and Adopts New Font

Published by skeptic

On Thursday, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation unveiled the new “visual identity” for its growing network of museums, a custom-designed, open-source typeface including both Latin and Arabic characters. The new Sans font is now protocol for the branding of the foundation’s museums in New York, Venice, Bilboa, and the forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. “Created in collaboration with the renowned design firm Pentagram, the visual identity reinforces the Guggenheim’s position as a global cultural institution while celebrating the unique local character of each of its museums,” the foundation said in a statement. It added that the use of both Latin and Arabic characters reflects “the institution’s museum locations and its commitment to accessibility and international dialogue.” The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi art museum will be located in the United Arab Emirates’ Saadiyat Island cultural district. It will be the largest of the Guggenheim museums, standing almost 1,000 feet tall and spanning more than 300,000 square foot of floor space. It stems from the UAE’s 2005 plan to diversify its economy by pumping billions into cultural tourism. The institution’s …

Sotheby’s Will Sell Works from Harry Guggenheim Collection in November

Sotheby’s Will Sell Works from Harry Guggenheim Collection in November

Published by skeptic

Sotheby’s will offer three artworks from the collection of Harry F. Guggenheim as part of its Modern Evening sale in November. The proceeds of the three works, Alberto Giacometti’s bronze sculpture Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego), Franz Marc‘s painting Das Lange Gelbe Pferd and Paul Gaugin’s ceramic sculpture La Femme noire, will benefit the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. “Harry Frank Guggenheim exhibited an extraordinary drive for innovation, with contributions that profoundly influenced the very fabric of American life. These works, which will be coming to the market for the first time in nearly 70 years, serve as a testament to his bold vision, offering rare insight into the personal tastes of a man who was so critical in shaping modern art as we understand it today. They present a unique opportunity for collectors to continue in that esteemed legacy,” Sotheby’s senior director and international specialist Fergus Duff said in a press statement. Related Articles The three works are the first consignment announcement from the auction house for its fall marquee evening sales in New York. Buste …

Frank Lloyd Wright Thought About Making the Guggenheim Museum Pink

Frank Lloyd Wright Thought About Making the Guggenheim Museum Pink

Published by José

Image via The Frank Lloyd Wright Foun­da­tion Archives Seen today, the Solomon R. Guggen­heim Muse­um, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, seems to occu­py sev­er­al time peri­ods at once, look­ing both mod­ern and some­how ancient. The lat­ter qual­i­ty sure­ly has to do with its bright white col­or, which we asso­ciate (espe­cial­ly in such an insti­tu­tion­al con­text) with Greek and Roman stat­ues. But just like those stat­ues, the Guggen­heim was­n’t actu­al­ly white to begin with. “Few­er and few­er New York­ers may recall that the muse­um, in a then-grim­i­er city, used to be beige,” writes the New York Times’ Michael Kim­mel­man. “Robert Moses thought it looked like ‘jaun­diced skin.’ ” Hence, pre­sum­ably, the deci­sion dur­ing a 1992 expan­sion to paint over the earth­en hue of Wright’s choice. Not that beige was the only con­tender in the design phase. Look at the archival draw­ings, Kim­mel­man writes, and you’ll find “a reminder that Wright had con­tem­plat­ed some pret­ty far-out col­ors — Chero­kee red, orange, pink.” The very thought of that last “leads down a rab­bit hole of alter­na­tive New York his­to­ry,” …

How Did the Guggenheim Museum Emerge as an Iconic Art Institution?

How Did the Guggenheim Museum Emerge as an Iconic Art Institution?

Published by skeptic

  In the last century, the Guggenheim Museums have emerged and remained among the most important cultural institutions globally. The collection of extraordinary architectural designs from Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry, as well as the unique and enormous collection of modern art, attract millions of visitors every year in New York, Bilbao, and Venice. Read on to learn more about the museum’s history and the extravagant characters who made it what it is.   Solomon R. Guggenheim and the Meeting that Changed His Life Irene Rothschild, Wassily Kandinsky, Hilla von Rebay, Solomon R. Guggenheim. Source: Guggenheim Bilbao   The person behind one of the most important art collections to ever exist was Solomon Robert Guggenheim—the heir of a wealthy mining family and a successful businessman of his own. He started to collect art in his forties, focusing on safe and understandable purchases of the Old Master paintings. By this time, he could afford to retire and focus all his efforts on collecting art. Initially, his interest in art was inspired by his wife Irene …

Beyoncé ‘not authorised’ to project Cowboy Carter message on Guggenheim, New York museum says

Beyoncé ‘not authorised’ to project Cowboy Carter message on Guggenheim, New York museum says

Published by Sam

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Representatives for the Guggenheim museum have said that Beyoncé did not seek permission before projecting adverts for her forthcoming album, Cowboy Carter, on to its building. The Texan-born star is preparing to release her latest record, the country-themed sequel to her critically acclaimed disco and house-influenced 2022 album, Renaissance, next week. On Wednesday (20 March), promotional visuals for the project were spotted on museums around New York City, including the Guggenheim, the Museum of Art and Design, the Whitney, and the New Museum. They featured the phrases, “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” as well as the album’s title and release date of 29 March. The album statement was made in response to Beyoncé saying she did not feel “welcomed” by the country music scene, in an Instagram post last week. The Guggenheim said it “was not informed about and did not authorise this …

Guggenheim ‘Did Not Authorize’ Beyoncé ‘Cowboy Carter’ Promo on Museum

Guggenheim ‘Did Not Authorize’ Beyoncé ‘Cowboy Carter’ Promo on Museum

Published by Sam

Promotions for Beyoncé’s upcoming Cowboy Carter album made its way onto New York City museums Wednesday night, nearly a week ahead of its highly anticipated release. Advertisements for the album, which is set to drop March 29, were seen projected on several museums, including the Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum, New Museum and the Museum of Art and Design. However, Guggenheim shared in a statement with The Hollywood Reporter that the institution “was not informed about and did not authorize this activation. However, we invite the public — including Beyoncé and her devoted fans — to visit the museum May 16–20 when we present projections by artist Jenny Holzer on the facade of our iconic building to celebrate the opening of her major exhibition.” The promo displayed on the outside of the Guggenheim Museum featured the phrases “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” as well as the album’s title and release date. The lines reference the Grammy-winning singer’s Instagram post earlier this week, where she got candid about what led to the creation of Act II: Cowboy Carter after she …

Promos for Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” Album Appear at Several Museums

Promos for Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” Album Appear at Several Museums

Published by skeptic

Promotions for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album were recently projected onto several museums in New York City ahead of its hotly anticipated release on March 29. Among those institutions were the Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum, New Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design. The Guggenheim’s Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda was projected with the phrases: “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” The lines are quotes from an Instagram post from Beyoncé on March 19 detailing her thoughts about the country music genre, how she did not feel welcomed by musicians working within it, and the criticism she experienced before becoming the first Black woman with a #1 single on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Related Articles The singer posted an Instagram story on Wednesday night highlighting the coordinates of the museum. Screenshot by Karen K. Ho/ARTnews The cover image of Cowboy Carter features Beyoncé dressed as a rodeo queen, riding side-saddle on a white horse while holding the American flag. This image was also projected onto the exteriors of the New Museum, …

Architect Breaks Down the Design Of Four Iconic New York City Museums: the Met, MoMA, Guggenheim & Frick

Architect Breaks Down the Design Of Four Iconic New York City Museums: the Met, MoMA, Guggenheim & Frick

Published by José

Con­text may not count for every­thing in art. But as under­scored by every­one from Mar­cel Duchamp (or Elsa von Frey­tag-Lor­ing­hoven) to the jour­nal­ists who occa­sion­al­ly con­vince vir­tu­oso musi­cians to busk in dingy pub­lic spaces, it cer­tain­ly counts for some­thing. Whether or not you believe that works of art retain the same essen­tial val­ue no mat­ter where they’re beheld, some envi­ron­ments are sure­ly more con­ducive to appre­ci­a­tion than oth­ers. The ques­tion of just which design ele­ments make the dif­fer­ence has occu­pied muse­um archi­tects for cen­turies, and in New York City alone, you can direct­ly expe­ri­ence more than 200 years of bold exer­cis­es and exper­i­ments in the form. In the Archi­tec­tur­al Digest video above, archi­tect Michael Wyet­zn­er (pre­vi­ous­ly fea­tured here on Open Cul­ture for his exege­ses of New York’s apart­ments, bridges, and sub­way sta­tions, as well as Cen­tral Park and the Chrysler Build­ing) uses his expert knowl­edge to reveal the design choic­es that have gone into the Met­ro­pol­i­tan Muse­um of Art, the Muse­um of Mod­ern Art, the Solomon R. Guggen­heim Muse­um, and the Frick Col­lec­tion. No two of …