Xavier F. Salomon

In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” join Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, on an excursion to one of his favorite places in the world, Villa Barbaro in Maser, Italy. Designed in the sixteenth century by Andrea Palladio, the villa is decorated floor to ceiling with magnificent frescoes by Paolo Veronese. The Frick is home to two allegorical paintings by Veronese that he produced in the 1560s, shortly after completing his work on the villa.

In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, journeys to Siena to explore Santa Maria della Scala, an eleventh-century complex across from the steps of the cathedral. Behind the modest exterior of this hospital turned museum are a variety of magnificent frescoes and sculptures by Lorenzo di Pietro, better known as Vecchietta. The Frick’s “Resurrection” is the only signed and dated work by the artist in the United States.

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, examines one of the Frick’s most beloved paintings, Hans Holbein’s “Sir Thomas More.” Xavier considers More's relationship to humanist circles and the role of "friendship portraits" in making the absent present. In the words of More's devoted friend, Desiderius Erasmus, “life without a friend is no life." As a nod to the turbulent times of Tudor England, Xavier pairs this episode with a Bloody Mary cocktail.

In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, transports us to the Japanisches Palais (Japanese Palace) in Dresden, the original home of the Meissen “Great Bustard.” Augustus II rebuilt and enlarged the Japanese Palace to showcase his extraordinary collection of porcelain, but he died before the project was completed. This exquisite porcelain masterpiece became part of the Frick’s collection through the generosity of the late collector Henry H. Arnhold (1921–2018).

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” join Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he considers the life of statesman Warren Hastings, who is depicted in a small watercolor from about 1791 by the prominent British artist George Stubbs. Explore the tumultuous career of Hastings, from his tenure as governor-general of India to a decade-long trial in Westminster Hall upon his return to England. This week’s complementary cocktail is a gin and tonic garnished with a slice of lime.

Cocktail Recipe

In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” travel with Xavier F. Salomon, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, to Valenciennes, the birthplace of the Rococo painter Jean-Antoine Watteau. Delve into the historical events surrounding Watteau’s "Portal at Valenciennes" (ca. 1710–11), a scene of soldiers at rest near the ramparts of the town. Known for his depictions of garden frolics, Watteau seldom portrayed military life—“The Portal” is one of only three such paintings that survive today.

In the third episode of “Frick Five,” Xavier F. Salomon, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, interviews Arturo Galansino, Director General of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence. Arturo answers our five questions, disclosing his love for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. (He promises to wear his Pink Floyd tee-shirt next time.)

We at The Frick Collection stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Please join us for 8 minutes, 46 seconds of silence to pay respect to the life of George Floyd and the countless other Black lives lost to racially motivated violence.

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In the fourth episode of “Frick Five,” Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, interviews his colleague, Curator Aimee Ng. Aimee answers our five questions, revealing how she became an art historian and why. As for the work of art she would most like to live with, it’s about 3,000 years old, 19 inches tall, and has a “cool, calm, commanding presence.”