History

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is founded

After the death of their seventeen-year-old son, John Simon, in April of 1922, Senator Simon Guggenheim and his wife Olga decided to create a non-profit foundation in his memory. In 1924, Senator Guggenheim tapped a young scholar, Henry Allen Moe, to oversee its creation and to lead its first years. On March 16th, 1925, the Foundation was officially chartered and incorporated by New York State and Governor Alfred E. Smith.

The first class is appointed

On May 27th, 1925, the Committee of Selection nominated 15 people selected from 74 initial applicants to constitute the first class of Fellows. They were officially appointed by the Board of Trustees the next day. Notably, this first class of Fellows included a 24-year-old Aaron Copland, who went on to be thought of as "the dean of American composers."

The Latin American Program begins

Thanks to a second gift from Senator Guggenheim, the Foundation expanded the geographic scope of the Fellowship to include Mexico and parts of the Caribbean and South America. In the years to come, additional Latin American countries would be added.

Martha Graham becomes the first Guggenheim Fellow in Choreography.

The Whitney Museum of American Art hosts an exhibit featuring Guggenheim Fellows' work

Simply called "Exhibition of the Work of Artist Fellows of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation," the Whitney Museum exhibited 136 works by 52 Guggenheim Fellows, including Miguel Covarrubias, Marsden Hartley, Gwen Lux, and Isamu Noguchi.

Edward Weston becomes the first Guggenheim Fellow in Photography.

Maya Deren becomes the first Guggenheim Fellow in Film.

Gerald Estrin and Gerard Salton named the first Guggenheim Fellows in Computer Science

Henry Allen Moe retires as President and is succeeded by Gordon N. Ray

After nearly 40 years at the helm, Henry Allen Moe stepped down from his role as president of the Foundation in 1963. His successor, Gordon N. Ray, was a four-time Fellow in English Literature, winning a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1941, 1942, 1945, and 1956.

366 Fellowships awarded, the largest number ever given in one year

Gordon N. Ray retires, succeeded by Joel Conarroe

After more than 20 years, Gordon N. Ray retires and Joel Conarroe, a 1977 Guggenheim Fellow in American Literature, takes over as the president of the Foundation.

Joel Conarroe retires, succeeded by Edward Hirsch

After nearly two decades of leadership, Joel Conarroe retires and is succeeded by Edward Hirsch, a 1985 Fellow in Poetry.

Philip Roth leaves $1.6 million to support future Fellows

When author Philip Roth died in 2018, he left the Foundation $1,600,000 to support the Guggenheim Fellowships. He designated a portion of his gift for the Joel Conarroe Fund, which honors his life-long friend, the Foundation’s President Emeritus, and provides funding for Fellows in all the arts. The income from the balance of Roth’s gift will be used to support new Guggenheim Fellows in all areas of creative writing. Roth was a friend of the Foundation for sixty years, regularly alerting us to writers he thought would benefit from a Fellowship. In addition to his bequest, Roth designated 100% of the royalties from all of his books for the benefit of the Foundation.

Robert De Niro supports a Guggenheim Fellowship in honor of his father, Robert De Niro, Sr.

Actor Robert De Niro established a Guggenheim Fellowship in honor of his father, the painter Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract painter who received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine Arts in 1968.