What was the former name of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum before 1952?

Before 1952, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was called the Museum of Non-Objective Painting.

The Museum of Non-Objective Painting opened in Manhattan in 1939 under the direction of Hilla von Rebay. It presented abstract works, especially paintings associated with artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, and reflected Solomon R. Guggenheim’s interest in nonrepresentational art. The institution operated before the current Fifth Avenue building existed.

In 1952, the museum was renamed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The later name connected the institution more directly with its founder and reflected its expanding program. The Frank Lloyd Wright building opened in 1959, seven years after the renaming.

The former name is sometimes mistaken for a description of one exhibition or collection section. It was the institution’s official name from its 1939 opening until the 1952 change.