The doc. PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT

The tape recordings of legendary art patron Peggy Guggenheim (PG) by biographer Jacqueline B Weld  are being publicly heard for the 1st time. They were used in her bio "Peggy:  The Wayward Guggenheim" published in 1986.  We hear a very direct and candid PG in conversation with Weld.  Weld asks unabashed and interesting questions to PG regarding her life, relationships, and perceptions.  PG in her forthright and candid answers provide a vivid portrait of a woman, despite any formal art training, amassed the most impressive collection of the most highly regarded artists of the mid 20th C.  It's astounding PG's innate eye for discerning talented artists.  Her eccentric & bourgeois upbringing is both fascinating & tragic.  Her father died on the Titanic, one sister died in childbirth,  the other purportedly killed her 2 children, and her daughter died of a drug overdose at 41. The enigma of her abilities to recognize geniuses is incredible and her patronage admirable. Although, perhaps her patronage served her like a casting couch. The astounding list of artists with whom she had affairs is impressive albeit brief.  She credits receiving sound advice, mostly from Duchamp. And, she attributes her own intuition and relentless pursuits.  During WWII PG went into Paris and shipped all the contemporary works the Louvre did not regard worth protecting to the U.S.  When asked if she was afraid of being captured and sent to the camps she replied "No, it's not in my nature to be afraid."  The film presents an impressive list of artists: painters, sculptors, writers & critics she knew, supported and a scintilating kiss & tell.  Her 2 most important accomplishments were 1)  Pollack and her amassed collection. This 90 minute doc. is an ardent portrait of a maverick at the vortex of an volatile epoch in modern art.  "I am not an art collector.  I am a museum."