1941 to 1946. Her work reflects their influence in the recurrence of improbable elements or situations in her decors or scenes, combined with her own, unique naïve style. In January 1943 and in June 1945, Guggenheim's work was featured in exhibitions dedicated to women: Exhibition by 31 Women, and then "The Women", at the Art of This Century gallery opened by Peggy Guggenheim in New York in October 1942. Her paintings were shown alongside works by Kay Sage, Leonora Carrington, Lee Krasner, Dorothea Tanning, and Frida Kahlo. In her painting, Guggenheim often represents couples and families that seem happy and affectionate. Given her tumultuous childhood with her mother, this theme likely represents her search for a stable family life. The characters in Guggenheim's paintings are often taken directly from her own world: we can identify her mother, her husbands, her children, and especially Guggenheim herself. While her work seems cheerful at first glance, a sense of isolation and suffering is often perceptible: a woman crying while giving birth, for example, or characters that are dehumanized. Raymond Queneau wrote the following introduction to one of her exhibition catalogues: "The world Pegeen creates is somehow more authentic than the real world because it seems closer to heaven on earth. No culpability tarnishes its colors or weighs upon its figures. After his expulsion, Adam with his pure heart traced perfect representations of vengeful bison on hidden cave walls. What was Eve doing? Probably listening to cries that she was guilty. But here, as Prévert says: 'God has been expelled from heaven on earth' and it is 'the new season'. 'A fertile ground- a childlike moon- a hospitable sea- a smiling sun- at the edge of the water- girls embodying the spirit of the times.' Pegeen Hélion belongs to this race of 'ambrosial children'. Notes References Further reading Time article Peggy Guggenheim Collection Other paintings by Guggenheim Pegeen Vail 1925 births 1967 deaths American people of Dutch-Jewish descent American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Swiss-Jewish descent American women painters Jewish American artists Jewish painters Finch College alumni 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American businesspeople Swiss emigrants to the United States Swiss expatriates in France Swiss expatriates in the United Kingdom