It’s a trope of childhood, exploring for treasure in grandma’s attic. But what if your grandmother is Peggy Guggenheim and her attic is a museum? In 2017, Peggy’s granddaughter Karole Vail, a longtime curator at New York’s Guggenheim museum, began as new director of the Guggeheim in Venice—formerly her grandmother’s home and still home to her art collection. Vail is now lining up the exhibitions. This one looks at Peggy’s collecting in Venice, from the late 1940s until her death in 1979. —L.J.

Peggy Guggenheim: The Last Dogaressa was featured in the September 14, 2019 issue of Air Mail. Read on