Growing Up Guggenheim

Growing Up Guggenheim Peter Lawson-Johnston, a member of the Guggenheim family’s fifth generation, will discuss his memoir Growing Up Guggenheim . As the board president who oversaw the transformation of the renowned museum from a local New York institution to a global art venture, Lawson-Johnston’s personal memoir includes intimate portraits of the five people principally responsible for the entire Guggenheim art legacy. In addition to firsthand biographical accounts of his grandfather Solomon Guggenheim, his cousin Harry, and his famously rebellious cousin Peggy, the author tells the stories of longtime museum director Thomas Messer, who initiated the bold expansion of Frank Lloyd Wright's original museum building, and current director Thomas Krens, whose controversial tenure has featured such innovations as the Guggenheim's wildly successful first international outpost in Bilbao, Spain, and exhibits devoted to fashion and motorcycles. Following the lecture, Lawson-Johnston will be available to sign copies of his book.