Who was the first director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum?

Hilla Rebay was the first director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Rebay, a German-born artist and curator, became a crucial adviser to Solomon R. Guggenheim and helped shape his collecting of non-objective art. She directed the Museum of Non-Objective Painting before it evolved into the Guggenheim Museum.

Her advocacy helped bring artists such as Wassily Kandinsky into Guggenheim’s collection. Rebay also worked closely with Frank Lloyd Wright during the planning of the New York museum, although their relationship became strained as the project developed.

Peggy Guggenheim is a frequent mistaken answer because she was a major collector and an important member of the wider Guggenheim art world. Her Venice collection, however, was a separate institution from the New York museum.