GUGGENHEIM'S LATEST BRANCH IS TO OPEN IN CYBERSPACE
With Guggenheim.com, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation hopes
to find online success where other museum- and art-related
initiatives have not. Backed by such financial heavyweights as
G.E. Capital, Pequot Private Equity, and Softbank Venture Capital,
the for-profit Guggenheim.com does not lack for funding. What
remains to be seen is whether the museum will be able to leverage
its cultural assets and create online content sufficiently
compelling to tempt patrons to open their checkbooks. Plans call
for Guggenheim.com to display high-resolution reproductions of
paintings, sculptures, and other works from the collections of
the Guggenheim and its partner museums. There will also be
educational information related to the works, artist biographies,
and a range of scholarly content. It is not yet known which
attractions will be freely available and which will come at a
price. Guggenheim.com will feature a retail gift shop and a travel
service to help patrons visit Guggenheim museum locations around
the world. The site will allow sponsors to display discreet ads
on its pages.
(New York Times, 30 April 2001)