Legal dispute between Peggy Guggenheim's heirs and the Guggenheim Foundation

A long-running legal battle between the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and the heirs of the collector, led by her grandson Sandro Rumney, has been revealed by Milton Esterow in Vanity Fair. The heirs accuse the foundation of mismanaging the bequest, including 'desecrating her tomb' by placing signage near her ashes and renting the courtyard for parties. They also claim the foundation has become too commercial, adding new acquisitions and loans from other collections, such as the Gianni Mattioli collection, instead of preserving the original collection as Peggy left it. The foundation counters that it has always respected Peggy's wishes and that the heirs are seeking a financial settlement. The dispute began in 1992 and has been adjudicated four times, always against the descendants. Tensions reignited in 2013 when the collection removed some pieces to display the Schulhof bequest, leading the heirs to request the revocation of the donation in a Paris court in 2014. The foundation will also lose its long-time director Philip Rylands in June of this year.