Issue #12
Xavier F. Salomon
Il Conservatore
Xavier F. Salomon was born in Rome, and educated in London. He is an art historian and museum curator. He has worked as a curator in London (National Gallery and Dulwich Picture Gallery) and New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Frick Collection). He has curated exhibitions on artists such as Paolo Veronese, Anthony van Dyck, Francisco Goya, Salvator Rosa and Guido Reni.
I am an art historian and the Chief Curator at The Frick Collection. I work at the museum and spend my free time traveling, reading, and swimming. I am also a great fan of the opera.
I left Italy when I was 18. I realized that in my professional and private life I had no future in Italy and left as soon as I finished school to study in London. In fact, I always planned to spend the rest of my life in England. I did not choose New York. New York chose me. I was offered a job in New York and decided to take it. It took me a while to feel at home here, but I do.
The very first day I came to New York in June 2000. That is the day I met Karen, my first landlady in the city, who has remained my enduring point of reference in NY and my American “mum”.
This is where I work every day and what I wear everyday. I thought the photo should capture my daily life rather than an exceptional circumstance.
I embraced the project from the first time I heard of it. It is important to focus on how many Italians shape the life of an extraordinary city like New York. At the same time it is also important to understand that so many of us only flourish and give our full potential professionally and in our private lives outside of our own country. I find this a bittersweet reality.
I work surrounded by Italian art every day. My task is to take care of, study, and promote the great artistic contributions of Italy in different fields.
