Peggy Guggenheim: the Shock of the Modern / Francine Prose 211pp.

Like Einstein: His Space and Times, David: the Divided Heart, and others, this title is part of Yale's Jewish Lives series.  And what a life!  Peggy, niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim and born near the turn of the last century, devoted her life and wealth to collecting, promoting, and exhibiting some of the most important artists of the century: Jackson Pollock, Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, and many others.  She rescued her large collection, one of the most important of the time, from the Nazis, thereby tilting the course of art history.  And although self-conscious about her physical appearance, she collected important men just as assiduously as artworks.  There were affairs with Samuel Beckett and Yves Tanguy, and I lost count of the marriages.  I am a long-time fan of Francine Prose, and she's painted a fascinating portrait of a strange, insecure, and daring woman.