The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum was a museum owned and originally operated by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. It was located in The Venetian resort on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

, and operated from October 7, 2001, to May 11, 2008. The Guggenheim Hermitage was the result of a collaboration agreement between the State Hermitage Museum in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and its exhibitions featured works held by both institutions. The Guggenheim Hermitage, designed by architect

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theory, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graduate School of ...

, included of space. The museum was host to 10 exhibitions during its operation, featuring the work of leading artists such as

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, and

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

. The Venetian took over the museum's operations in 2007, before closing it the following year. It attracted 1.1 million visitors throughout its history, with 95 percent of them being tourists. Lack of community support, as well as competition from the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, contributed to the closure.

History

In 2000, the Venetian resort in Las Vegas entered negotiations with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation about hosting an art exhibition at the resort. Guggenheim director Thomas Krens had initially rejected the Venetian's proposal, finding it to be "tacky". However, he was convinced of its viability after touring the nearby Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. A deal was announced later in 2000 which saw Guggenheim partnering with the State Hermitage Museum in

, Russia. The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum opened at the Venetian on October 7, 2001, along with a second resort museum, the Guggenheim Las Vegas. The latter operated from October 2001 to January 2003, showcasing

The Art of the Motorcycle The Art of the Motorcycle was an Art exhibition, exhibition that presented 114 motorcycles chosen for their historic importance or design excellenceSawetz. "The Art of the Motorcycle is curated by Thomas Krens, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenh ...

in a building. The Guggenheim Hermitage was designed by architect

, who also designed the larger facility. The Guggenheim Hermitage consisted of four gallery rooms, and was nicknamed the "Jewel Box", while the Guggenheim Las Vegas was alternatively known as the "Big Box". Initial visitation was disappointing, according to Guggenheim. The museum faced competition from the Bellagio art gallery, and also struggled with a lack of community support. Its location on the

made it undesirable among locals, with tourists making up approximately 95 percent of attendees. Visitation was also hurt by the economic impact of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. In 2003, discussions began between the Venetian and the museum to improve on-site advertising. As of 2005, the mall received an average of 200,000 visitors each year. The Venetian took over museum operations in 2007, while Guggenheim and Hermitage continued to loan art to the facility. It eventually closed on May 11, 2008, having received approximately 1.1 million visitors throughout its history, with attendance declining in the final two years. The $15 admission fee was waived during the final month of operation. Its closure left the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art as the only art facility on the Strip.

Exhibitions

The Guggenheim Hermitage hosted 10 exhibitions during its operation. Upon opening, the museum showcased 45 notable paintings from both the Guggenheim and Hermitage museums. Among the artists represented were

Franz Marc Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaking, printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider), a journal whose ...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

, and

. The

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

in Austria sometimes loaned art to the museum, including a 2004 exhibition, which featured works by

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

, and

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732 (birth/baptism certificate) – 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific art ...

. The Kunsthistorisches was also to loan a portion of its Egyptian collection for a 2005 exhibition, although this deal fell through. A travelling exhibition, The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt, was instead signed to take place, with items from the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

, the Luxor Museum, and

Deir el-Bahari Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri (, , ) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis. History Deir el-Bahari, located on the west ...

. Later that year, the Guggenheim Hermitage hosted an exhibition of 16th and 17th century Russian items on loan from the Kremlin Museum. In 2006, the museum hosted an exhibition featuring the work of

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, as well as his pupils

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

and

Jacob Jordaens Jacques (Jacob) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678Jacques Jordaens
in the Netherlands Institute for Ar ...

. An exhibition dedicated to photographer

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...

ran from 2006 to 2007, but saw minimal attendance. It was the museum's first photography exhibit, and also the first to feature the work of a single artist.

References

{{ACArt

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

Guggenheim Museum Rem Koolhaas buildings Defunct museums in Nevada Museums in the Las Vegas Valley Art museums and galleries established in 2001 2001 establishments in Nevada Art museums and galleries disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in Nevada

History

Exhibitions

See also

References