Bold brushstrokes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2024 (633 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Late 20th-century American heiress Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) had a tough, brash exterior. She is most often remembered for her philanthropy, her art collection and her brazen promiscuity. However, less is generally known about her fraught backstory.

This poignant historical novel offers a compassionate look at the domestic side of the first half of Guggenheim’s life. Set in New York, France and London, Peggy covers the period of Guggenheim’s life from age 14 in 1912 to age 40 in 1938. As well, it’s the coming-of-age story of a self-proclaimed late bloomer.

It is noteworthy that this novel is a posthumous collaboration. Toronto-born author Rebecca Godfrey wrote over two-thirds of the manuscript before her death in 2022, leaving instructions for her friend and fellow author Leslie Jamison to complete the work, which she has done quite seamlessly. Godfrey also wrote the 2005 true-crime book Under the Bridge about the beating death of Reena Virk in B.C., which was made into a recently released series (which is available to watch on Disney+).

Raised by servants and homeschooled by governesses, Guggenheim had a lonely, isolated upbringing as an ugly duckling middle child from New York’s second-wealthiest family at the time.

Her father Benjamin was the Guggenheim family’s black sheep. After severing business ties with them, he moved to Paris with his mistress to design elevators for the Eiffel Tower. After a year and a half, his plan misfired. En route back to New York, he perished on the Titanic.

At the outset of the novel, Peggy has just learned of her father’s demise. She is overcome with grief, for she adored him. As an art collector, he taught Peggy about the paintings he owned, arranging for her and her sisters to study art history and visit the Louvre. These experiences stoked her imagination.

Benjamin’s death plunges Peggy’s family into financial chaos; they have to move, and his brothers are needed to support them, which causes resentment towards Peggy’s family.

After high school, Peggy enjoyed shmoozing with the writers and artists who frequented the book shop where she worked. There she met Laurence Vail, a Parisian writer. After their first date, he invites Peggy to meet him in Paris — and doing so changes her life.

The first-person narrative is written in Peggy’s voice in lyrical, idiosyncratic prose. “As a girl, I used to imagine my father had risen from the bottom of the sea, his pockets full of jewels, and found his way to somewhere better: a painting made of brushstrokes, disordered beauty, unapologetic light.”

In Peggy, Godfrey (and Jamison) moves through Guggenheim’s privileged, albeit circumscribed upbringing, then the emotional roller-coaster of Peggy’s domestic life in France as well as her sisters’ problems and her role as a benefactor. The final section of the novel involves Peggy, writer Samuel Beckett and her imminent gallery opening.

The dialogue throughout the novel is crisp, with Peggy’s interior monologue vividly portrayed. She’s a fascinating character replete with contradictions.

In short, this novel humanizes Peggy Guggenheim by showing revealing her vulnerabilities as well as her strengths. It will appeal to readers with an interest in stories about female characters coping with loss.

Bev Sandell Greenberg is a Winnipeg writer and editor who likes reading and writing about the art world.