the Salanders
Back Row: Larry and Julie Saldander with Jonah, Ivana, Isaac Front Row: Ben, Sam Nathaniel, Elias
Larry and Julie Salander have a motto in their house, “If you
“Salander-O'Reilly Galleries is not intended as merely a com-
can, do. If you can't, try harder.” For them, the value of hard
mercial proposition, but a statement about quality in art,” he
work is the single most important life lesson they want to
said, adding that the most challenging aspect of becoming
instill in their children. As the parents of seven children (Benjamin '12 and Elias '14, who currently attend AllenStevenson; Samuel, who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall; Nathaniel, the youngest; and Ivana, Jonah, and Isaac, children from Larry's previous marriage) it is safe to say they know first-hand about hard work. “No matter what your life pursuit, hard work is essential in order to take pride in your accomplishments,” Julie said. In both of their lives, following their passions has proved to be a valuable life lesson. Larry, owner of Salander-O'Reilly Galleries and an artist himself, started his first gallery in 1977. After his father passed away when Larry was 19, he founded his own antique business (his father, grandfather and uncles were all antique dealers) to support his mother and younger sister. Years later, he began dealing art and
an art dealer was valuing art in terms of money instead of dealing with it from the soul. As an artist, he said having the courage to fail has been the biggest challenge. As for Julie, formerly the Director of the New York office of CARE, an international relief and development organization, being a wife and mother and having a large family has always been a life goal. While at CARE, Julie said she learned many skills such as multi-tasking, changing gears, and dealing with the dynamic of a group. She now applies these skills to parenting in making sure her children take on as much responsibility as they can from putting away their toys, doing their homework and completing chores. In teaching their children the value of hard work, Julie and Larry stress that doing something better than you thought you could is more important than being the best.
now has two Manhattan galleries, which exhibit art from the
“Looking back on life, the best times, the most fulfilling
Renaissance to the present day.
times, are the most challenging,” Julie said.