As an art lover, an artist, these facts made me laugh. Talk about being true to one’s self!

You know it takes a LOT to surprise me, or shock! You gotta read this story about Peggy Guggenheim. Wow. I had no idea was like a May West persona for real, but in and about ART!

Peggy Guggenheim had an insatiable appetite for art and sèx. While building one of the most impressive art collections the modern world has ever seen, she was also busy bedding men left and right. While in Europe, it is said she slept with almost 1,000 men. She claimed to have had affairs with numerous artists and writers, and in return, many claimed to have had affairs with her. Once, she even claimed to have had sèx with a fictional character: William Boyd’s Nat Tate.

While extremely wealthy, Peggy bought only 2 or 3 dresses a year. She used her money instead to buy art. She opened a gallery in London called Guggenheim Jeune, showcasing artists such as JEAN COCTEAU, Jean Arp and Kandinsky. On one trip to Paris, she bought 10 Pablo Picasso, 8 Joan Mirós and 3 Man Rays, among others.

In front of The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, there is a bronze sculpture of a nàked boy, in a state of arousal, with his two arms extended. Scandalous as she was, Peggy made sure the penis was detachable, so as not to offend the more conservative dignitaries and visiting archbishops.

Peggy dìèd in 1979. In her lifetime, Peggy Guggenheim loved many, and loved them ardently. But the great love of her life was neither man nor woman, but always, truly, her love for art.