About

Before the inauguration of the Guggenheim Foundation in 1925, Senator Simon Guggenheim wrote, “We all realize that some of the finest minds, some of the most constructive thinkers in the world, have been seriously hampered in turning their natural gifts to the best advantage by the lack of adequate financial backing. I want to do my part to meet this need.” Senator Guggenheim and his wife, Olga, established the Foundation in memory of their son, a promising young scholar, who died at the age of 17 in 1922. From its inception, the Foundation has sought, as the senator wrote in his first Letter of Gift, to “add to the education, literary, artistic, and scientific power of this country, and also to provide for the cause of better international understanding.”

The Guggenheim Foundation offers Fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form under the freest possible conditions. From the beginning, we have awarded our Fellowships based on merit alone, promising in our founding charter to “[aid] without distinction on account of race, color or creed, scholars, scientists and artists of either sex in the prosecution of their labors.” 

Since our founding, we have supported over 19,000 writers, scholars, scientists, and artists in over 50 different fields of study across the fine arts, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. These individuals have pioneered new art forms, made world-changing discoveries, given voice to all manner of experience, and answered some of our society’s biggest questions.