Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim Limited Edition
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Montblanc, for over 25 years, has recognised and celebrated the invaluable contribution of modern day patrons of the arts with its prestigious Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, and coinciding with the Award, is the commission of a unique limited edition writing instrument, inspired by a historical patron of the arts to honour the contemporary ones.
This year, the Patron of Art Edition pays tribute to the outstanding legacy of one of the most influential art collectors and exhibitors of the 20th century, Peggy Guggenheim. The eponymous founder of the Guggenheim Museum was a supporter of many young abstract and surrealist artists, whose works she showed in Europe and America, and thus, credited to have shaped the international careers of some of the 20th centuries’ most successful artists, which includes Kandinsky, Pollock, and Ernst.
The Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim Limited Edition 81 is a personal homage to her life from her arrival in Europe to her later life in Venice. Limited to only 81 pieces, the number is also a reference to the age at which she passed away in 1979.
Created in the Montblanc Artisan Atelier from the finest materials and shaped by highly skilled master craftsmen, the design of the writing instrument is inspired by the art deco style that surrounded the collector when she arrived in Paris in the ‘20s.
The skeletonised Au750 solid champagne gold structure of the barrel mirrors the dramatic entrance gates to the Guggenheim Collection in Venice, created by the prolific modernist sculptor Claire Falkenstein. The lion head clip design refers to the Lion of Saint Mark, the symbol of the city, where she chose to house her collection, while the pattern on the cap ring recalls certain graphic details on the front of the Guggenheim’s Venetian palazzo-museum. Its red lacquer inlay spiral is inspired by the iconic striped mooring poles lining the canals of Venice.
Crowning the cap is the Montblanc emblem, crafted in white marble, a choice of material that mirrors the palazzo’s distinctive marble facade. The skeleton champagne-gold cap with its black lacquer underlay is a reference to Guggenheim’s very particular style – and her penchant for the zebra pattern, seen generously throughout her palazzo
The Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim Limited Edition 888 takes inspiration from the art that she discovered and promoted. A geometric art deco-inspired pattern adorns the red lacquered and ruthenium-coated cap and barrel. The engravings of lion heads on the red gold cap ring are inspired by the exterior of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, her home for 30 years, which was decorated extensively with this symbol of Venice.
The cap ring has been embellished with a set of 10 garnets in the eyes of the lions, while the red gold and translucent red lacquer body features a brilliant cut diamond ring at the end. The paws engraved on the Au750 solid gold nib recall the special affection she had for her 14 Lhasa Apso dogs, which not only accompanied her on her gondola trips down the Grand Canal, but were laid to rest next to their eccentric owner in the grounds of her palazzo.
As an alternative, the geometric art-deco design of the Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim Limited Edition 4810 is featured on a contrasting black lacquered and platinum-coated cap and barrel. The platinum-coated ring is elegantly embossed with the lion heads associated with Guggenheim’s Venice, while the Montblanc emblem that crowns the fountain pen is made of traditional black and white resin.
