Peggy Guggenheim and Nelly van Doesburg

Together, Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) and Nelly van Doesburg (1899- 1975) made a crucial contribution to art movement De Stijl. Not by making art, but by promoting, exhibiting and buying De Stijl at a time when next to no one had faith in the geometric form language of Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian and many others. It is partly due to their efforts that De Stijl was in the limelight shortly before and after the Second World War and that the movement was recognized internationally as one of the most important art movements ever brought forth by the Netherlands.

This richly illustrated publication tells the story of two strong and liberated art ambassadresses in a world dominated by men. It portrays their colourful private lives and focuses on their activities to promote modern art in general and De Stijl in particular. The story of their efforts sheds a new light on De Stijl and on the work of many artists and collectors and creates a comprehensive portrait of an era. In addition to work by Theo van Doesburg this volume includes work by Georges Vantongerloo, El Lissitzky, Constantin Brancusi, Antoine Pevsner, Fernand Léger and Piet Mondrian.