Salomon, Richard ()
Role:Dates:
Portrait Location: Sayles Hall 108
Artist: Shikler, Aaron ()
Portrait Date: 1987
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 39 1/2
Framed Dimensions: 46
Brown Portrait Number: 247
Brown Historical Property Number: 616
Although Richard Bernard Salomon is remembered today through the Salomon Center for Teaching and Learning on the Campus Main Green, Salomon's involvement with Brown lasted more than thirty years. He served as Chancellor Emeritus, confidante of several Brown Presidents, and advisor to many students.
As Chancellor from 1979 through 1988, Richard Salmon oversaw one of the University's periods of greatest growth. During that time twenty-five new centers, programs, and institutes were created to encourage interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching, and many new building were completed. The Wayland Collegium for Liberal Learning was established in 1980 through an endowment given by Richard Salomon and his wife Edna, and in 1982 the Salomons were the lead donor for the University's successful $182-million campaign.
Most of Mr. and Mrs. Salomon's gifts to Brown were made anonymously, and Richard Salomon was especially known for his modesty. The Salomons initially even wished their $5 million contribution to the Richard and Edna Salmon Center for Teaching to remain unknown. According to President Howard Swearer (BP 250), "It took me two years to persuade the Salomons to put their names on the building" and then he added with a grin "It was the hardest negotiation I had as President of Brown."
The Salomon Center for Teaching, dedicated on May 6, 1989, was constructed over a three-year period. The old Rogers Hall, built as the chemical laboratory in 1862, became a large entrance lobby connected to the new building, which houses a main auditorium for 576 persons on the first level, and below another auditorium for 220. The brick building was designed by Goody, Clancy and Associates of Boston in a style consistent with the facade of the old building.
Richard Salomon devoted much of his life to philanthropic causes. He was a member of the board of Directors of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, the French Hospital in New York City and the Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Fashion Institute of Technology, The Library of Presidential Papers and the Board of French American Cultural Society of Educational Aid.
Richard Salomon demonstrated a special dedication to the New York Public Library where served as the Chairman of the Board from 1977 through 1981. His successor Marshall Rose stated, "Richard was a great leader, mentor and role model for all of us. He will be terribly missed. The rejuvenation of the Library was in great part due to his leadership, advice and counsel"
Richard Salmon's diverse contributions to Brown University resulted in several accolades. In 1972, the 40th anniversary of his graduation from Brown, Mr. Salomon received an Honorary Doctor of Laws. He received the highest honor from the Associated Alumni of Brown, the Brown Bear Award, in 1977 and the highest award from the Brown Faculty, the infrequently-given Susan Colver Rosenberger Medal of Honor, in 1982.
Born in New York City on January 9, 1912, Richard Salomon was himself a Brown Alumnus, Class of 1932. His Belgian father had grown up in France, and Richard Salmon's bilingual background encouraged him to spend his junior year abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Nancy at a time when undergraduate semesters abroad were unusual. He later attributed his success in business to the fluency in French he obtained through this study abroad experience. Throughout his lifetime he encouraged Brown students to learn other languages and to go abroad to experience other cultures. He even helped students secure jobs overseas to allow the experience.
Regardless of the role his French language skills played, Salomon's business career was impressive. In 1933, he joined his uncle's company Charles of the Ritz, Inc., an international cosmetics and perfume firm, and three years later, in 1936, he became company President at the age of 24. During World War II he served in the Army at the rank of First Lieutenant, earning a Bronze Star.
In May 1956, Salomon was elected Chairman of the board and chief Executive Officer of Lanvin-Charles of the Ritz, by then a $60 million firm. When he retired as Chairman and CEO in 1972, the company had a market value of $100 million. When the company was acquired by Squibb, Salomon served as executive committee member for Squibb.
Richard Salomon died on July 21,1994 in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 82. The following day Brown's George St. Journal released a Special Edition devoted to his memory. He was survived by his wife of 55 years, Edna Barnes Salomon; three children, Richard, Robert, and Ralph; and 12 grandchildren.
The portrait of Richard Salomon was completed in 1987 by internationally renowned painter Aaron Shikler. Shikler's most famous works include the portraits of President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline commissioned for the White House, and the official portraits of President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy, also on display at the White House. His portrait of Queen Noor is displayed in Jordan's Royal Palace.
Shikler's paintings are represented in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the National Academy of Design. Recently commissioned portraits include Barbara Walters, Giorgio Armani, Diana Ross and her daughters. In 1980 he was persuaded to complete a portrait of then President-elect Reagan that graced the cover of Time Magazine as Man of the Year.
Born in 1922 in Brooklyn, New York, Shikler studied at the Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania, the American University in England, the Hans Hofmann School in New York and Temple University's Tyler School of Fine Art, where he earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Masters of Fine Arts.