Solomon Guggenheim

American businessman and art collector

Also known as: Solomon Robert Guggenheim

Written and fact-checked byThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Born:: Feb. 2, 1861, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.

Died:: Nov. 3, 1949, New York, N.Y.

Also Known As:: Solomon Robert Guggenheim

Solomon Guggenheimwas a businessman and art collector. He became a partner in his father’s Swiss embroidery import business. He also worked in the family mining industry and was a director of many family companies. After retiring from business in 1919, he devoted his time to collecting modernist paintings. He established the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (1937), which provided the funds for the Solomon Guggenheim Museum (1959). See also Meyer and Daniel Guggenheim.