Guggenheim Museum, USA

The Guggenheim Museum is an incredibly interesting building, an embodiment of the modern style in architecture, representing a concrete spiral. It is the only building in New York designed by the talented architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Located on Fifth Avenue, this magnificent building is associated with the name of millionaire Solomon R. Wright. Guggenheim. He collected works by Old Masters throughout his lifetime, later incorporating contemporary modern art into his collection under the influence of artist Hila Rebay von Ehrenwiesen. It was she who chose and hired Wright in 1943 as the architect of the new museum.

Hilla Rebay set the condition that the building should have an unconventional architectural design and at the same time be a "temple of the spirit". Over the next 16 years, Wright presented 6 designs and 749 sketches. He sought to develop an interesting floor space that was both different and comfortable for viewing the extensive collection. Meanwhile, Solomon Guggenheim died in 1949, but left $2 million to build the museum. Construction began in 1956. It opened in October 1959, but its creator could not wait for the opening of this architectural gem-he died six months before.

"The Guggenheim and its spiral-shaped galleries are an exciting way to view art. From the moment the visitor enters, he or she encounters the impressive design. On one side is the museum shop, on the other the cathedral, and just in front is the delightful concrete spiral, rising to the vaulted 28-metre-high ceiling window. This extraordinary place deserves the name "Rotunda", which is lined to the top with a 400m long ramp, where the main exhibition space is. There is an elevator that can be used to reach each of the five levels of the ramp.

The Guggenheim's permanent collection covers the history of world art, including European art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum's management has purchased a large number of films and photographs that keep the Guggenheim up-to-date. In the last 20 years of the 20th century, the museum has organized more than 300 temporary exhibitions: of American and other artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Richard Prince and Robert Rauschenberg; the artistic heritage of different countries is presented, such as "Africa-The Art of a Continent" from 1996. Also here in the galleries of the Rotunda was presented a very interesting exhibition-"The Art of the Motorcycle", when 80 of the most important motorcycle designs since 1884 were exhibited.

The exhibits at the Guggenheim change frequently, but there are always examples of the work of great artists to be found here. There are over 200 paintings by Wassily Kandinsky in the museum's collection. In addition, Chagall's Paris Through the Window from 1913; Léger's Grand Procession from 1954; and Modigliani's Naked Woman from 1917 can be seen here.

One of the galleries is called "Tramhauser" in honor of Justin K. Tramhauser-an art dealer and collector who gave the museum 75 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Exhibits from the permanent collection can be seen here, as well as temporary exhibitions by contemporary artists.

Level four has the lowest ceiling and houses the Robert Mapplethorpe Gallery, dedicated to photography. The four video rooms are also here, as well as the wonderful terrace with outdoor sculptures.

On ramp three are the Guggenheim family galleries. In 1963, Solomon Guggenheim's niece Peggy, a gallery owner, donated works by Surrealists, Cubists and members of Abstract Expressionism to the museum.

In 2008, the Guggenheim Museum organized the exhibition with the strange name "Imagery", which aroused great interest. In the same year, 2008, a major three-year renovation of the museum was completed and a light projection created by the artist Jenny Holzer is now projected on its façade.

The Guggenheim's goal to engage the world with contemporary art is not limited to the Fifth Avenue building. It has branches in Venice, Berlin and Bilbao, where temporary exhibitions are presented, and there are permanent collections as well. In the early years of the 21st century, more branches were opened in other parts of the world - Bucharest (Romania), Gualdahar (Mexico), Vilnius (Lithuania), Abu Dhabi (UAE).